Domestic Violence and Nonfatal Strangulation Assessment. Patricia M. Speck, DNSc, ARNP, APN, FNP-BC, DF-IAFN, FAAFS, DF-AFN, FAAN

      The following cases represent a compilation of many different patients and are not intended to represent an individual case. Any similarity is purely coincidental. The photographs are from individual cases, but the patient’s faces have been obscured for the purposes of this publication.

      The Domestic Violence and Nonfatal Strangulation Assessment assists first responders, nurses and physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, emergency room health care providers, attorneys, and law enforcement personnel in the assessment and documentation of strangulation cases.

      First responders and health care providers evaluating patients who have been strangled often face challenges related to lack of education, knowledge, experience, and competence. The reasons include limited contact with this particular patient population, lack of access to experts who provide ongoing evaluation and peer review, and increasing demands from employers to manage all patients effectually. To maintain and improve highly specialized skills necessary for the evaluation of patients who have been strangled, this workbook improves provider’s understanding about the assessment, documentation, and treatment of strangulation, thereby improving competency and allowing for improved quality of care for strangulation patients.