A Community Program on Domestic Violence

Posted by Derek Johnson on June 12th, 2017 Posted in: Advocacy, Blog, Funding, News from the Region, Outreach, Public Health
Tags: domestic violence, rape aggression defense training, sexual assault, Traveling Exhibit, women's health

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Wayne State’s Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library recently hosted the National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibit Confronting Violence, Improving Women’s Lives. The six-panel exhibition highlights NLM resources in recounting the resilience of nurses who advocated for the medical profession to recognize violence toward women as a major health issue. Shiffman Library’s Outreach Advisory Council and select university librarians organized the half-day event Improving Women’s Lives: Confronting Abuse to accompany the exhibit. Similar to planning past community events, significant consideration was given to disseminating relevant content, ensuring engaging presentations, as well as tending to the emotional and physical well-being of attendees.

Synthesizing previous participants interest in the subject matter with local health data help structure the program content and format, ultimately bringing together experts in forensic nursing, social work, counseling, legal, law enforcement, and librarianship. Individuals attended information sessions on recognizing patterns of abusive relationships, proper procedures and preparation for a sexual assault examination, support services for survivors, the physical and psychological impact on survivors health, creating and executing escape plans, legal rights and options, rape aggression defense training (RAD), and accessing health information on MedlinePlus.gov. The event culminated with Wayne State Police leading a discussion on violence against women and offering several complimentary, six-week RAD training sessions to select community members.

 

Select comments from participant evaluations include:

• “I really enjoyed the breakout sessions + learned about services available in the community”
• “Great program”
• “Overall, all the presentations were good and very informative”
• “I’m glad WSU makes these types of events to empower women and address issues that are not easy to speak openly to our relatives and circle.”
• “I’m a medical student at WSUSOM; I think it would be really helpful to have a seminar for medical students about recognizing the signs of DV, resources, etc. to help us in our training.”
• “The domestic violence website [MedlinePlus] had lots of useful info.”

Shiffman Medical Library looks forward to continuing its relationship with the Greater Midwest Region as an Outreach Library in supporting its mission to expand consumer access and use of key NLM resources to guide healthcare decision-making and improve outcomes.  To learn more about Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library outreach programs and community engagement visit our website at  http://guides.lib.wayne.edu/shiffmanoutreach/current.

For inquires contact
LaVentra E. Danquah, MLIS, MIS
Coordinator for Library Instruction, Liaison, & Outreach Services
Vera P. Shiffman Medical Library
Mazurek Medical Education Commons
Wayne State University
Email: laventra@wayne.edu