10.1177/1054773805275287 CLINICAL NURSING RESEARCH / August 2005 Dienemann et al. / SURVIVOR PREFERENCES Survivor Preferences for Response to IPV Disclosure JACQUELINE DIENEMANN University of North Carolina, Charlotte NANCY GLASS Oregon Health and Science University REBECCA HYMAN Sinai Hospital Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major cause of health conditions among women presenting for health care. Many physicians and nurses miss potential opportunities to increase battered women’s safety. The purpose of this study is to increase health care providers’ understanding of abused women’s prefer- ences concerning provider response when they do disclose IPV in order to in- crease effectiveness of interventions. A total of 26 abused women from a larger study participated in five focus groups at three agencies on “how a hospital or doctor’s office can be most helpful to a woman who is experiencing domestic vio- lence.” Women identified seven preferences for responses: (a) treat me with re- spect and concern, (b) protect me, (c) documentation, (d) give me control, (e) imme- diate response, (f) give me options, and (g) be there for me later. These findings indicate that women prefer an active role by health care providers when responding to disclosure. Keywords: domestic violence; qualitative methods; survivor preferences Intimate partner violence (IPV) is now recognized as a significant public and women’s health issue with negative health out- comes for women, their families, and society (Department of Health and Human Services, 2000; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000). CLINICAL NURSING RESEARCH, Vol. 14 No. 3, August 2005 215-233 DOI: 10.1177/1054773805275287 © 2005 Sage Publications 215