Assessing nursing and midwifery students’ knowledge, attitude, and preparedness in managing intimate partner violence

Abstract Introduction: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is any conduct within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual, or psychological harm. Nurses and midwives play an important role in detecting and reporting IPV cases. However, few studies were conducted assessing nursing and midwifery students’ readiness in managing IPV. Hence, this study aimed to assess nursing and midwifery students' knowledge, attitude, and preparedness in managing IPV. Methodology:A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among a convenient sample of nursing and midwifery students (n=318) from a selected university in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected using the modified Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PRIMS) (Connor et al., 2010) and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results indicated that 66.98% of nursing students and 33.02% of midwifery students perceived themselves to have a moderate level of preparedness in managing IPV. Pearson correlation analysis revealed weak but statistically significant positive relationships between perceived preparedness and both perceived knowledge (r = .138, p < .05) and actual knowledge (r = .162, p < .05). Perceived knowledge was also weakly correlated with actual knowledge (r = .143, p < .05), and strongly correlated with attitude (r = .651, p < .05). No significant association was found between perceived preparedness and attitude (r = .028, p > .05). These findings suggest that perceived knowledge is more strongly associated with students’ attitudes toward IPV management than actual knowledge or perceived preparedness. Conclusion: The study highlights the need to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and readiness of nursing and midwifery students in managing IPV. Despite moderate preparedness, actual knowledge and attitudes are insufficient, especially among midwifery students. Targeted education interventions are required to enhance skills in handling IPV cases.