Physician Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in Vermont

Introduction: The term intimate partner violence (or IPV) refers to a threat of abuse or actual psychological, physical, and/or sexual abuse perpetrated by a former or current intimate partner. IPV is an important public health issue that crosses socioeconomic lines. Approximately 4.8 million women experience physical or sexual assault perpetrated by their intimate partner each year in the US. There are no reliable statistics for how many women suffer psychological abuse, but the numbers are likely much higher. Physical, psychological, or sexual injuries can have wide ranging effects, including increased mortality. Although it has been firmly established that the prevalence of IPV is high, physician involvement in screening and diagnosing IPV has historically been very low. Previous studies have addressed IPV screening in other parts of the country. In one study, less than 15% of female patients reported being asked by a health professional about IPV, even though studies have shown that the majority of female patients would reveal their abuse if asked. Also, most physicians screened for IPV when the patient presented with physical trauma, but few screened all patients regularly. The more aware physicians were about IPV, the more likely they were to screen in all clinical settings. While both men and women are victims of IPV, and IPV can have a large effect on the children of the abused, only the screening and treatment of women was explored here. The purpose of this study was to examine the state of IPV screening in Vermont. The objectives were as follows: - ?Estimate the IPV screening, intervention, and policy practices of Vermont physicians ?- Examine the role of physicians in screening and intervention ?- Explore physicians’ knowledge of IPV resources