Partner Violence Assessment in Rural Health Care Clinic

Objectives. We sought to determine the frequency of intimatepartner violence by type in a large, clinic-based, nurse-administeredscreening and services intervention project. Methods. A brief intimate partner violence screen, which includeditems to measure sexual and physical assaults and psychologicalbattering (using the Women’s Experience With Batteringscale) was administered to consenting women receiving care at1 of 8 rural clinics in South Carolina. Results. Between April 2002 and August 2005, 4945 eligible womenwere offered intimate partner violence screening, to which 3664(74.1%) consented. Prevalence of intimate partner violence ina current (ongoing) relationship was 13.3%, and 939 women (25.6%)had experienced intimate partner violence at some point in thepast 5 years. Of those ever experiencing intimate partner violence,the majority (65.6%) experienced both assaults and psychologicalbattering; 10.1% experienced assault only, and 24.3% experiencedpsychological battering only. Most women (85.5%) currently experiencingboth psychological battering and assaults stated that violencewas a problem in their current relationship. Conclusions. The intimate partner violence screening techniquewe used was feasible to implement, acceptable to women seekinghealth care at the targeted clinics, and indicated a high proportionof women reporting intimate partner violence in the past 5 years,with a majority of those women stating that such violence wasa problem in their relationships. These findings demonstratedthe viability of the screening technique, which supports thegrowing importance of implementing intimate partner violencescreenings in clinical settings in order to reduce the prevalenceof violence in intimate relationships

Intimate Partner Violence Incidence and Continuation in a Primary Care Screening Program

There are few longitudinal estimates of intimate partner violence (IPV) incidence and continuation. This report provides estimates of IPV incidence and continuation in women receiving health care in clinics participating in an IPV assessment and services intervention study. The Women\u27s Experience with Battering Scale was used in combination with questions addressing physical and sexual assault to annually screen women for IPV. Between April 2002 and August 2005, 657 women in rural South Carolina consented and were screened at least twice. Among those with a current partner (n = 530), the majority (86.2%) had never experienced IPV. Among prevalent victims, IPV continued over time for 37%. IPV continuation rates were higher among older women and those who considered abuse as a problem in their relationship. Of those women who were IPV negative at time 1, IPV incidence at time 2 was 4.2%. A higher score on the Women\u27s Experience with Battering Scale at time 1, a marker of psychological abuse, was a strong predictor of physical IPV incidence (ptrend = 0.0001). These data suggest that the incidence of IPV over a short follow-up period is relatively low and that the majority of IPV desists over this short follow-up period

Effect of an In-Clinic Ipv Advocate Intervention to Increase Help Seeking, Reduce Violence, and Improve Well-Being

This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of clinic-based advocacy for intimate partner violence (IPV) to increase help seeking, reduce violence, and improve women\u27s well-being. Eligible and consenting women attending one of six selected clinics in the rural Southern United States were assessed for IPV. Consenting women disclosing IPV were offered either an in-clinic advocate intervention or usual care, depending on the clinic they attended and were followed for up to 24 months. Over follow-up time both IPV scores and depressive symptoms trended toward greater decline among women in the advocate intervention clinics relative to the usual care (business card referral only). © The Author(s) 2012

Effect of an In-Clinic Ipv Advocate Intervention to Increase Help Seeking, Reduce Violence, and Improve Well-Being

This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of clinic-based advocacy for intimate partner violence (IPV) to increase help seeking, reduce violence, and improve women\u27s well-being. Eligible and consenting women attending one of six selected clinics in the rural Southern United States were assessed for IPV. Consenting women disclosing IPV were offered either an in-clinic advocate intervention or usual care, depending on the clinic they attended and were followed for up to 24 months. Over follow-up time both IPV scores and depressive symptoms trended toward greater decline among women in the advocate intervention clinics relative to the usual care (business card referral only). © The Author(s) 2012

Effect of an in-clinic IPV advocate intervention to increase help seeking, reduce violence, and improve wellbeing. Violence Against Women

This quasi-experimental study investigated the efficacy of clinic-based advocacy for intimate partner violence (IPV) to increase help seeking, reduce violence, and improve women's wellbeing. Eligible and consenting women attending one of six selected clinics in the rural Southern United States were assessed for IPV. Consenting women disclosing IPV were offered either an in-clinic advocate intervention or usual care, depending on the clinic they attended and were followed for up to 24 months. Over follow-up time both IPV scores and depressive symptoms trended toward greater decline among women in the advocate intervention clinics relative to the usual care (business card referral only). Keywords: abuse | depression | evaluation | health care | intervention | women | intimate partner violence Article