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Citation
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Leake J, Houry DE, Kaslow N, Schultz R, Mintz H, Heron SL, Rhodes K, Kellermann A. Ann. Emerg. Med. 2004; 44(Suppl 1): S97. |
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Abstract
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Study objectives: We determine the prevalence rates of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidality in female emergency department (ED) patients and determine whether there is a significant correlation with these mental health symptoms and intimate partner violence (IPV).
Methods: A prospective study was conducted over a 2-month period at an inner-city ED and Level I trauma center. All female patients in the ED waiting room between the ages of 18 and 55 years were eligible for inclusion, regardless of chief complaint. Patients answered questions anonymously on a touch-screen computer kiosk. We used the validated Beck Depression Inventory II, Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation, and the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale to determine mental health symptoms and the Universal Violence Prevention Screening Protocol to screen for IPV.
Results: One hundred sixty-five women participated in the study; 88% (n=141/160) were black, 6% were Hispanic, and 2% were white. The mean age was 32.98 years. Of the 125 women who had been in a relationship in the past year, 38% (n=48) screened positive for IPV. Twenty-three percent of women who had experienced a traumatic event had moderate to severe PTSD symptoms (n=15/65), 24% had suicidal ideations (n=39/160), and 25% (n=41/165) had moderate to severe depressive symptoms. IPV victims were more likely to have moderate to severe depressive symptoms (64% versus 36%; P=.003) than women who had not experienced IPV. We found no differences in suicidal ideations (46% versus 54%; P=.32) or in PTSD symptoms (66% versus 33%; P=.13) between women who experience IPV in the past year and those who had not.
Conclusion: Female ED patients have high rates of depressive symptoms, suicidality, and PTSD symptoms. Females who have experienced IPV in the past year are more likely to have depressive symptoms than those without IPV.
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