Primary healthcare practitioners' screening practices and attitudes towards women survivors of child abuse

Background: Child abuse survivors have an increased risk of developing various mental illnesses in adulthood, which may lead survivors to access primary healthcare services, in particular primary care mental health services. Aim: To determine the frequency with which different primary care mental health practitioners encounter child abuse survivors in their practice and differences in their views about routine screening, level of importance, confidence and comfort in screening and supporting survivors, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 186 practitioners. Method: The sample consisted of general practitioners (13.9 ), psychologists (67.9 ) and other professions such as psychiatrists, social workers, counsellors, psychotherapists, mental health nurses and other specific mental health practitioners (18.2 ).