Managing gender-based violence patients: implications for the practices and attitudes of emergency medical care providers.

Introduction: Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is one of the most widespread human rights abuses in the world. Although women and girls are often the targets of GBV, men and boys can also suffer from it. Therefore, this study investigated the practices and attitudes of Emergency Medical Care Providers (EMCPs) in managing GBV patients. Methods: this study applied self-administered questionnaires and analyzed them quantitatively. The information was gathered from 130 qualified and practicing EMCPs in Bloemfontein working within the public sector of Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Results: the results showed that a significant association was observed among socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, educational status, marital status, and how EMCPs managed GBV cases. On the other hand, a non-significant association was observed among age, year of experience, and how EMCPs managed GBV cases. Furthermore, a significant association was observed among the beliefs of the society, attitudes of the environment towards abuse victims, and exaggeration of suspected GBV patients influences the management of GBV patients. Conclusion: the study concluded that while the current EMCPs in Bloemfontein, Free State South Africa, are relatively educated, there is still room for improvement to cover the growing demands of the job to be done for GBV cases.