"Holy cow, does that ever open up a can of worms": health care providers' experiences of inquiring about intimate partner violence.

Primary care health care providers (HCPs) are likely to treat numerous women who are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). In this study, we used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyze semistructured interviews with nine HCPs (six family physicians and three nurse practitioners) in Ontario, Canada. Findings center on how HCPs interpret and make sense of their experiences inquiring about and receiving abuse disclosures. Overarching themes that we identified were asking and disclosure as a journey and disengaging in order to engage. Our findings underscore the importance of training HCPs to respond flexibly to sensitive situations.