Citation

Herzog T, Maina G. Can. J. Emerg. Nurs. 2020; 42(1): 12-16.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, National Emergency Nurses Association of Canada, Publisher Pappin Communications)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes inti- mate partner violence (IPV) as "any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psycho- logical or sexual harm to those in the relationship." IPV affects millions of people around the world. "Worldwide, almost one- third (30%) of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical and/or sex- ual violence by their intimate partner in their lifetime" (World Health Organization [WHO], 2012, 2013). IPV is also associ- ated with higher rates of chronic health issues such as PTSD, mental health problems, poor cancer outcomes, and increased risk to HIV infections (Beydoun, Williams, Beydoun, Eid, & Zonderman, 2017; Coker, Follingstad, Garcia, & Bush, 2017; Dillon, Hussain, Loxton, & Rahman, 2013). Additionally, risks of further victimization (e.g., sexual assault, and IPV in other relationships), and elder abuse (Teresi et al., 2016; Gerber, Wittenberg, Ganz, Williams, & McCloskey, 2008; Young-Wolff et al., 2013) challenge nurses working in emer- gency units to support IPV screening and stop the long-term impact of IPV.

Intimate partner violence is a major social and health issue in Canada. The Department of Justice estimates that the annual cost of caring for victims of IPV is $7.4 billion (Zhang, Hoddenbagh, McDonald, & Scrim, 2013). In 2016, more than 93,000 cases of IPV were reported in Canada. Women are most affected by IPV and constitute 79% of the reported IPV cases. Further, 37% of violent crimes are acts of IPV (Andresen & Linning, 2014; Burczycka & Conroy, 2018). Women aged 25-34 years report the highest rates of IPV, at 650 per 100,000...

Language: en