Changing women's lives: the primary prevention of violence against women.

Significant numbers of women in the United States experience violence and abuse in their intimate relationships that compromise the health and safety of the women and their children. This article discusses the problem of violence against women and outlines strategies for responding to violence and abuse in the primary care setting. Nurses can play a vital role in the primary prevention of abuse by implementing abuse screening and education on the issue of violence against women. This article presents strategies for the primary prevention of abuse and guidelines for mobilizing support for women. Collective prevention strategies aimed at eliminating violence against women at the institutional, community, professional, and political level are highlighted.