Caroline Hulbert
3.20.19
Bio 10H
Current Event 6
Wetsman, Nicole. “X-Rays Could Provide Crucial Clues in Identifying Domestic Violence.” Popular Science, Bonnier Corporation, 6 Feb. 2019, www.popsci.com/radiologists-identifying-domestic-violence.
In the article I chose to review, “X-Rays Could Provide Crucial Clues in Identifying Domestic Violence,” the author Nicole Wetsman discusses how victims of domestic violence can be identified through the use of x-ray scans. She talks about a study done by Bharti Khurana, the director of Emergency Musculoskeletal Radiology at Brigham and Women's Hospital. After attending a presentation about how often clinicians miss the signs of domestic violence, Khurana conducted a study to identify the injury patterns seen in the scans of victims of intimate partner violence. Khurana’s team began by reviewing the records of 185 patients who had been referred to the hospital’s Intimate Partner Violence support program from January to October of 2016. These cases were then compared to a control group of 555 emergency room patients of similar ages and sexes from the same time period. The study found that patients experiencing domestic violence had had four times as many images taken than patients in the control group. Victims of partner violence were also found to have more obstetric-gynecological problems and facial fractures. Khurana states that radiologists “don’t see the patient or their partner, and don’t have those factors unconsciously coloring their interpretations,” which is important when determining if someone is a victim of domestic abuse. Khurana plans to expand on these findings outside of the emergency department. Her long-term goal is to create a tool to aid and alert radiologists if they are looking at the images of a patient whose injuries were likely caused by partner violence.
This article is incredibly relevant to an issue not uncommon in society. Domestic abuse and intimate partner violence often goes unnoticed, even after victims are admitted to the emergency room. The fact that this study identified injury patterns in abuse victims will make it easier for radiologists and physicians to identify which of their patients are victims of intimate partner violence. Showing these specific injuries would help social workers talk to victims and would be helpful evidence in a court of law if the patient decided to pursue legal action.
There were many aspects of this article that were well-done. The author does a good job including a lot of detail about how and why Khurana decided to start her study. The article also has a large impact on the reader, as it begins by describing a former patient of one of Khurana’s colleagues that was likely suffering from intimate partner violence, however she was dismissed from the hospital. Some information that would have proven useful in the article would have been if the author had included more information about the patients involved in the study, such as how severe the abuse they experienced was and how that may have had an effect their scans. Including statistics and more information about the signs of domestic abuse that clinicians often miss would also be beneficial in contributing to the overall understanding of how important this study is.
Will Grant 4/7/19
ReplyDeleteCore Bio Current Event 8
Wetsman, Nicole. “X-Rays Could Provide Crucial Clues in Identifying Domestic Violence.” Popular Science, Bonnier Corporation, 6 Feb. 2019, www.popsci.com/radiologists-identifying-domestic-violence.
After reading Caroline’s review of “X-Rays Could Provide Crucial Clues in Identifying Domestic Violence.” by Nicole Wetsman, I found it was very good. Caroline first explains the article well using statistics and facts from the author. This helps the reader of the review understand it. Next Caroline explains the relevance to this article has to us as a society very well. This tells the reader why the article was chosen to review. The third thing she did well was she critiqued the article in a very professional but honest way. She believes that the author could go more into detail about the injuries and I agree with her.
Now there were two things I believe Caroline can improve on. The first of these being that she needs to explain some of these injuries better. For example, I do not know what obstetric-gynecological problems are. The second thing she did wrong was she did not use direct quotes from the author which could have helped me see the original author’s point of view.
In the grand scheme of things this review helped me learn about a very big problem in our country which is domestic abuse. This article gave hope to me that we as a nation can now recognize victims of abuse better and get help for them.
Chris Aherne
ReplyDeleteCurrent event
Mr. Ippolito
4-22-19
Wetsman, Nicole. “X-Rays Could Provide Crucial Clues in Identifying Domestic Violence.” Popular Science, Bonnier Corporation, 6 Feb. 2019, www.popsci.com/radiologists-identifying-domestic-violence.
For current event 9, I read Caroline Hulberts analysis of Nicole Westmans article. The article describes how X-rays can help in identifying domestic violence cases. One thing I liked about Caroline's article was how thorough she was. I felt as if every last detail was their making the read very informing. Secondly, I liked how descriptive she was. For example, she gave multiple accounts of domestic violence and how it was discovered using X-rays. Lastly, I felt as if she did a great job connecting the topic to society. She did this by explaining its relevance and unfortunate occurrence in today's society.
Although she did a great job with many things, there was room for improvement. For example, I found that most of the review was very choppy with little flow. Although it was informational, it was hard to read consistently. Secondly, I found that there was a lack of rhetorical devices in her review. Making it not only hard to identify with, but also hard to feel for the story. It felt strictly information with no connect.
Overall, I learned a lot about how our society can utilize X-ray and how beneficial it can be. I chose this article simply because it drew my eye when searching the blog. It will definitely change my outlook on domestic abuse. I will also now know how damaging these situations can be.