RT Article
T1 Understanding Australian massage therapists' attitudes and confidence to respond to domestic and family violence in clinical practice: findings from a community survey
JF Journal of family violence
VO 40
IS 8
SP 1519
OP 1533
A1 Fogarty, Sarah
A1 Hay, Phillipa
A1 Baird, Kathleen
A2 Hay, Phillipa
A2 Baird, Kathleen
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1946194506
AB Purpose: To investigate massage therapists’ attitudes, consultation processes, and confidence to respond to situations involving domestic and family violence (DFV) in clinical practice. Methods: An online survey-based study was conducted and Australian massage therapists, 18 years of age or over were recruited. The survey included 64 questions in 3 sections: 1) Demographics, 2) Recognize Family and Domestic Violence, and 3) Respond to domestic and family violence with 4 subsections; i) disclosures, ii) referrals, iii) further education, and iv) final comments. Results: Two-hundred and seventeen respondents were included in the analysis. Knowledge about DFV, having a client disclose DFV and confidence to manage a disclosure, were all significantly higher with massage therapists with a personal experience of DFV. The main qualitative theme was antithetical attitudes with two subthemes: a) not in my world: I’d be enormously surprised that a person in an abusive environment would come in for a massage, b) in my world: I want to be prepared. Conclusion: Having personal experience of DFV significantly impacted the way that respondents felt about and managed DFV in their clinic. Several massage therapists’ who had no personal experience of DFV demonstrated a lack of knowledge about DFV and less confidence to respond to it in their clinic. It is important to upskill and educate massage therapists, particularly those with no personal experience, to improve their confidence to have discussions around DFV and to respond to DFV disclosures.
NO Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 1531-1533
K1 Attitudes
K1 Domestic and family violence
K1 Massage therapists
DO 10.1007/s10896-024-00729-5