IN PLAIN SIGHT Felicia Frezell, with her son Jacob, 5, said her doctor never asked her about the bruises she had while she was married.

By ERIN N. MARCUS, M.D.

The silver-haired woman greeted me at the clinic door, one arm suspended in a bright blue sling.

And the domestic violence screening question I’d asked months before �?nestled between queries about smoking and seat belts �?seemed to have been spectacularly ineffective, since she’d answered “no.�?/P>

When I had asked about violence at home, I had been following guidelines set by the surgeon general and many professional groups, including the American Medical Association. Those who support routine questioning say domestic violence is as or more common in women than many diseases for which doctors regularly check, including breast and colon cancer, and its health risks are well documented.

Despite these recommendations, screening for domestic abuse in seemingly healthy women is nowhere near as widespread among doctors as testing for breast cancer or high cholesterol.

Some physicians see domestic violence primarily as a criminal justice issue, and take umbrage at being expected to delve into a difficult, messy topic when they already have to screen for many other conditions and diagnose complicated diseases in the span of an ever-shorter visit.

In a recent nationwide study of nearly 5,000 women, only 7 percent said a health professional had ever asked them about domestic or family violence. When surveyed, doctors often respond that they don’t ask such questions because of a lack of time, training and easy access to services that help these patients.

Some have reported that they worry about offending patients and believe asking won’t make any difference.

“Just like anybody else, doctors avoid things they may have discomfort doing,�?said Dr. Michael Rodriguez, a researcher and family practitioner at the University of California, Los Angeles. “There’s also an expectation on the part of some folks that once we identify abuse she should just walk away, and frustration when she doesn’t.�?/P>

Dr. Rodriguez and other experts say that urging an abused patient simply to leave may not be realistic or safe, for several reasons: The risk of being murdered is highest at the time one leaves, the woman may depend on her partner for food and shelter, and patients may not respond well to a doctor who dictates what to do.

They also say the best way to ask about such abuse is in a private place, with no family members present, as part of the routine patient history. If the patient says she has been battered or threatened at home, experts recommend that the doctor offer empathy, tell her what’s happening is wrong, document her story in the medical record and provide her with information on places to go or refer her to someone who may be able to help, like a social worker.

Barbara Gerbert, director of the Center for Health Improvement and Prevention Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, said that while some women might deny domestic violence at first, the question itself could have a profound effect: many women remember that their doctor asked and eventually, even years later, reveal their secret.

“Just by asking, you may be planting a seed for change,�?she said.

Numerous studies indicate that doctors ask about domestic violence poorly, however, and don’t handle it well when they do get a yes answer.

Felicia M. Frezell, 34, an office manager in Omaha, told me recently that she visited her doctor’s office many times with her five children during the 15 years she lived with her ex-husband, who was convicted in 2005 of raping her. She said that even though she often had bruises, no one ever asked her why �?until she asked her doctor to look at her swollen black eye and told him her husband had hit her.

“He just said, ‘You’d better get out of that situation�?and left it at that,�?Ms. Frezell said, and added: “Looking back, I didn’t know the resources that were out there. The doctor’s office is a good place to go because it’s neutral and it’s confidential. It’s not like telling your husband you’re going to the police department.�?

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 2001 to 2005 (the last year for which statistics are available) there was an annual average of nearly 511,000 violent assaults against women �?and 105,000 against men �?by a spouse or intimate partner, about half resulting in physical injury.

CONTINUED

Erin N. Marcus is a general internist and associate medical director of the Institute for Women’s Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.