Citation

Lucas S. Acta Paediatr. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/apa.16619

PMID

36529980

Abstract

In the present issue of Acta Paediatrica, Nimborg et al.1 describe their findings regarding a structured program within the preventive child health services in Sweden to provide information about and discuss intimate partner violence (IPV) with parents with young infants. The model includes written and oral information on IPV provided during the neonatal home visit offered to all families during the child's first weeks of life and structured questions asked during two regular child health visits with each parent individually. These questions refer to whether the parents have been exposed to violence in childhood or adulthood by a person close to them, if they are currently afraid of a partner or other relative and if the child has in any way been exposed to violence. The results suggest that the child health nurses find the model useful and applicable in their daily practice. Parents seem responsive to the discussions that arise and are positive to being asked about their experiences of violence.

This work represents an important step forward in addressing one of the greatest public health problems globally. IPV affects a staggering number of adults, with international studies showing rates as high as 47% among women and 44% among men worldwide.2, 3 Research over the recent decades has painted a clear picture of the far-reaching negative effects of IPV on the health and welfare of those who are exposed, including increased risks of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, cardiovascular disease, physical injury and death. Children who are exposed to their parents' IPV are at a similar risk of ill health, both during childhood and later in life, and are at severalfold greater risk of being physically and emotionally abused themselves. Early experiences of interparental violence are also associated with insecure attachment, impulsive and aggressive behaviours, difficulties in emotional regulation and affective disorders in childhood.4, 5

Given these profound effects on the child's health and life trajectory, preventing childhood exposure to IPV should be a top priority for governments, agencies and professionals charged with the welfare of children and adults, including health care, social work and education. And indeed, both national and international...

Language: en