| Course | NU 631 Healthcare of Women across the Lifespan |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Intimate partner violence protocol |
| Length | About 1,000 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Herzing University |
| Program | MSN Family Nurse Practitioner |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NU 631 Unit 7
Intimate Partner Violence Screening and Response Protocol for a Women's Health Practice in California
Student Name
Department of Nursing, Herzing University
NU 631: Healthcare of Women across the Lifespan
Instructor Name
March 9, 2026
Intimate Partner Violence Screening and Response Protocol for a Women's Health Practice in California
Who Is Screened, How Often, and Under What Conditions
Screening is recommended for women of reproductive age, with referral to ongoing support services for those who screen positive (US Preventive Services Task Force, 2018). This protocol applies to every patient aged 14 and older at the new patient visit, the annual well visit, the first prenatal visit, once each trimester, and the postpartum visit, and at any visit for injuries, pelvic pain, sexually transmitted infection, or depression.
Screening happens only when the patient is alone. Every patient is escorted to the examination room alone for part of each visit, a practice explained to everyone as routine, so that separating a patient from a partner draws no attention. If a partner, family member, or friend refuses to leave, screening is deferred and the clinician documents that it was not possible, without explanation in the visible note. Children over two are not present during screening. When interpretation is needed, a professional interpreter is used by phone or video, never a family member or partner.
Instrument
The practice uses the HARK questions, four items asking about Humiliation, being Afraid of a partner, Rape, and being Kicked or otherwise physically hurt in the past year (Sohal et al., 2007). HARK was chosen because it covers emotional, sexual, and physical abuse, takes under a minute, and performed well in its validation study. The clinician asks the questions verbally after a normalizing statement: "Because relationships affect health, I ask all my patients a few questions about how things are at home." A "yes" to any item is a positive screen. The questions are not handed to the patient on a clipboard in the waiting room, where a partner may see the answers.
Immediate Response to a Disclosure
The first response is validation, not investigation: "Thank you for telling me. You don't deserve to be treated this way. This is not your fault." The clinician then asks about immediate safety: whether she is afraid to go home today, whether the violence has increased, whether the partner has threatened to kill her or has access to a gun, and whether there has been strangulation. Strangulation and access to firearms are specific markers of increased risk of homicide and are asked about directly.
What is offered: time to talk; a warm handoff, the same day, to the practice's social worker or the local advocate by phone; the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788); and help making a safety plan. What is not pressed: the patient is not told to leave the relationship, which she may know is the most dangerous time, and is not required to accept any referral. The patient is the expert on her own safety, and supporting her decisions is the goal (Miller & McCaw, 2019).
Documentation
Recorded: that screening was performed, the result, what the patient said happened, quoted directly in the patient's own phrasing, injuries with location, size, and appearance, and photographs if she consents, with a body map. Services offered and her response are recorded. Documentation is careful because it may later support a protective order.
Deliberately excluded or protected: the safety plan's details, such as where she would go, are not written in the note. The practice uses its record system's confidential note feature so that the disclosure does not appear in the patient portal, visit summaries, or after-visit paperwork, because a partner may have access to her portal account or her mail. The after-visit summary contains no reference to the disclosure. If she wants written resources, they are given in a form that can be hidden, such as a small card with a phone number and no title.
Resources, Named
National: National Domestic Violence Hotline, available 24 hours, by phone, text, and online chat, with interpretation in many languages. Local: the county's domestic violence agency, with a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter for women and children, legal advocacy for protective orders, and counseling, open to any resident at no cost; the practice's social worker has a direct contact at the agency for warm handoffs during clinic hours. Legal: the county family law self-help center for restraining order paperwork. Each resource is listed on a laminated card in every examination room, updated every six months by the practice manager, who confirms that the numbers work.
Legal Obligations in This Jurisdiction
California Penal Code section 11160 requires health practitioners who provide medical services for a physical condition to report to local law enforcement when they know or reasonably suspect that the patient's injury was caused by assaultive or abusive conduct. This is broader than the laws of most states, and it applies even if the patient does not want a report. The protocol therefore requires the clinician, before any examination of injuries, to tell the patient what the law requires, so she can decide what to disclose. When a report is required, the patient is told, the report is made by phone and in writing, and the advocate is involved to help plan for her safety around the report. Screening disclosures without a current physical injury are not subject to this requirement. Suspected abuse of a child or of an elder or dependent adult is reportable under separate statutes, and those obligations are also explained. Because reporting laws change, the protocol is reviewed with the organization's legal counsel every year.
When the Patient Declines Everything
A common outcome is that the patient discloses and declines every referral. That is her right. The clinician documents the offer and her choice, gives the hotline number in a safe form if she will take it, tells her the door remains open, and schedules a follow-up visit for another reason within a few weeks so that contact continues. At that visit, she is asked again, privately, how things are at home. Disclosure itself can be the beginning of change, and a respectful response increases the likelihood that she will return when she is ready.
References
Miller, E., & McCaw, B. (2019). Intimate partner violence. New England Journal of Medicine, 380(9), 850-857. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1807166
Sohal, H., Eldridge, S., & Feder, G. (2007). The sensitivity and specificity of four questions (HARK) to identify intimate partner violence: A diagnostic accuracy study in general practice. BMC Family Practice, 8, Article 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-8-49
US Preventive Services Task Force. (2018). Screening for intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and abuse of vulnerable adults: US Preventive Services Task Force final recommendation statement. JAMA, 320(16), 1678-1687. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.14741
NU 631 Unit 7 instructions, in plain terms
The Unit 7 assignment asks for a screening and response protocol for a safety concern such as intimate partner violence, often for a specific practice and state. Expect to define who is screened, how often and the conditions needed for safe screening, such as seeing the patient alone. A validated instrument should be named with evidence on its accuracy. The response to a positive screen is usually the most important part: what is said first, how safety is assessed and what options are offered. Documentation rules, named resources and the legal reporting duties in the practice's state are commonly required. Many sections ask what happens when the patient declines help. Cite screening recommendations, the instrument's validation study and the relevant statute in APA 7. Build the protocol around an invented practice and a real state law.
Inside the NU 631 Unit 7 example
The protocol begins with screening criteria based on the Task Force recommendation and adds conditions such as private rooms and professional interpreters instead of family members. The instrument section explains the four HARK items and cites its validation. The immediate response section scripts the first words, which validate the disclosure without investigation, then moves to safety questions and options. Documentation instructions specify quoting the patient, describing injuries precisely and noting body maps or photographs with consent. Resources are listed by name, with national, county and practice contacts. The legal section explains what California law requires clinicians to report, when and how, and what the patient should be told about it. The final section treats a refusal of all help as her right, describing what is still documented and offered.
NU 631 Unit 7 rubric: what full points look like
The Herzing rubric for a safety protocol usually scores screening criteria, choice of instrument, response procedure, documentation, resources, legal requirements and evidence. Screening points require clear criteria and safe conditions. Instrument points depend on a validated tool with cited accuracy. The response procedure is weighted heavily, and it should show validation first, safety assessment and patient-led options. Documentation points go to specific rules that protect the patient. Resource points require named services with contact methods. Legal points depend on an accurate summary of the state statute, including what must be reported and to whom. Evidence points require current guidance in APA format, and writing points cover a protocol layout that staff could follow under time pressure.
NU 631 Unit 7 help before you submit
Protocols often lose points by stopping at the screening question, with little guidance on what to do after a disclosure. Students also screen with a partner or family member present or use them as interpreters. Instruments are named without evidence of validity. Documentation instructions are frequently vague, though precise records can matter later for the patient. Resources are listed as "community agencies" without names. State law is commonly misstated, either assuming universal mandatory reporting or ignoring it. Another frequent gap is no plan for the patient who declines help. Finally, avoid language that pressures the patient to leave; the protocol should support her choices and safety on her terms.
Get a NU 631 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the Unit 7 instructions and the rubric from your NU 631 classroom, plus your setting and jurisdiction. We write a custom example with the screening conditions specified, the response pathway detailed and local obligations stated accurately, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first custom sample is free.
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NU 631 Unit 7 questions, answered
Why does the response matter more than the screening?
Because asking without a pathway can do harm. A patient who discloses and receives no meaningful response has taken a risk for nothing, and may not disclose again to anybody. Screening programs are judged on what follows, and the protocol's substance should be in the response, the resources and the documentation rather than in the question itself.
What if the patient declines everything offered?
That is a common outcome and the protocol should expect it. Record that the conversation happened and what was offered, provide information in a form that is safe for her to keep or memorize, make clear the door stays open, and do not condition future support on accepting help now. Leaving is a process rather than a decision, and pressure at the wrong moment can end the contact.
How should documentation be handled?
Deliberately, with awareness of who can access the record. Some details are important clinically and dangerous if seen by the wrong person, and your organization may have a protected documentation route. State what is recorded, where, what is deliberately excluded and why, and check your institution's policy rather than assuming the ordinary note is the right place.
Where can I find a free NU 631 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page holds the complete NU 631 Unit 7 protocol free, with the HARK screen, the scripted first response, documentation rules, named resources and the California reporting duty. For a protocol written for another state or concern, send the details and you will receive a free custom version, often in two days or less.
What should a clinician do when a patient discloses intimate partner violence?
Start by thanking her and saying it is not her fault, then ask about immediate safety, offer options and resources without pressure, document carefully in her words and follow your state's reporting law. Her choices lead the plan.