Citation

Jonassen JA, Mazor KM. Acad. Med. 2003; 78(10 Suppl): S20-3.

Affiliation

Department of Physiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester 01655, USA. Julie.Jonassen@umassmed.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Association of American Medical Colleges, Publisher Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

14557085

Abstract

PURPOSE: Effective assessment of intimate partner violence (IPV) demands that everyone at risk be screened. To identify potential barriers, paper-and-pencil case scenarios identified possible practitioner and patient attributes that influence IPV screening. METHOD: First-year residents responded to one of four short written scenarios describing a divorced female patient with nonlocalized abdominal pain; variables were patient's age and abdominal bruising. Residents rated their likelihood of screening for IPV and seven other screening tasks and self-assessed their competence in performing each task. Regression analyses assessed the influence of resident and patient characteristics on screening likelihood. RESULTS: Patient bruising, younger patient age, and resident self-assessed competence best predicted IPV screening. Men were less likely than women to screen for IPV. CONCLUSIONS: Although most physicians receive training on IPV in medical school, barriers to IPV screening still exist. Identifying obstacles to IPV risk-assessment is an essential prerequisite for improving educational programs that promote routine IPV screening.

Language: en