Indicators of Woman Abuse Based on a Chart Review at a Family Practice Center

Objective: To identify demographic and health indicators of domestic violence. Design: Anonymous questionnaire survey of patients regarding violence and a chart review regarding symptoms and diagnoses. Setting: Community-based family practice residency training center in a midwestern city. Participants: Women 18 years of age or older visiting the center over a 2-month period in 1990. Of 476 eligible participants, 394 (82.7%) consented to complete the survey. Measures: A detailed, standardized measure of violence was used. Physical and psychological problems were given codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). Results: Younger women and those separated or divorced from their partners were more likely to have been victims. Never-married women also had substantially high rates of victimization. Depression was the strongest indicator of victimization, even when controlling for demographic factors. Back pain, ulcers, headaches, and anxiety were not strong indicators of abuse. A classification analysis showed that a combination of all variables could predict lifetime injury only about half the time and violence in the past year only about 20% of the time. Conclusions: Since neither demographic nor health factors could accurately predict who had been victimized, all women need to be asked about abuse. Physicians should also keep in mind that divorced and unmarried women are often affected by abuse, either immediately or by its long term aftereffects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89971/1/Saunders-Hamberger-Hovey-1993-Indicators of woman abuse based on a chart review at a family practice center AFM-AMA.pd

Domestic Partner Abuse

This volume makes a signal contribution to understanding and treating couples\u27 abuse. The editors and contributors expand the models of abusive relationships to include the special concerns of gay and lesbian couples, mutually violent partners, abusive women, and others. Based on a special issue of the respected journal Violence and Victims, the book shatters myths surrounding domestic violence and sheds new light on a complex social problem. This volume will be a resource for counselors, therapists, and social workers concerned with domestic violence, as well as for students and educators in the field. (Description from publisher)https://uknowledge.uky.edu/crvaw_book/1009/thumbnail.jp

Prevalence of domestic violence in community practice and rate of physician inquiry

Copyright 1992 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (www.stfm.org)BACKGROUND: National surveys show that each year in the United States approximately 2 million women are battered by their husbands. Only a small percentage of these women are identified by physicians. The objective of this research was to determine the incidence and prevalence of spouse abuse among women seeking health care in a family practice clinic (or setting). METHODS: During a two-month period, all adult women seeking health care from a family practice clinic in a medium-sized Midwestern community were asked to complete an anonymous questionnaire about whether they had ever been physically assaulted by their partners. RESULTS: Of 476 consecutive women seen in practice, 394 (82.7%) agreed to participate. Of these, 22.7% had been physically assaulted by their partners within the last year. The lifetime rate of physical abuse was 38.8%. Only six women in the sample had ever been asked about abuse by their physician in a recent visit [corrected]. CONCLUSIONS: Although spouse abuse is common, physicians rarely ask about it. Physicians should be trained to detect and assess abuse among female patients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/92459/1/Hamberger K- Saunders D- Hovey M 1992 Prevalence of domestic violence in community practice - Fam Med .PD