TY - JOUR PY - 2020// TI - Intimate partner violence and use of primary and emergency care: the role of informal social support JO - Health and social work A1 - Dias, Nicole Geovana A1 - Ribeiro, Ana Isabel A1 - Henriques, Ana A1 - Soares, Joaquim A1 - Hatzidimitriadou, Eleni A1 - Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth A1 - Lindert, Jutta A1 - Sundin, Orjan A1 - Toth, Olga A1 - Barros, Henrique A1 - Fraga, Silvia SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - Social support may encourage victims to disclose their experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), but also to seek the appropriate help and care in the social and health services. Using data from a multicenter European project, DOVE (Domestic Violence Against women/men in Europe-prevalence, determinants, effects, and policies/practices), the present study aimed at measuring the frequency of primary care and emergency use according to IPV types of victimization, and to investigate whether victims receiving different levels of informal social support are using health care differently.

RESULTS suggested a significant association between IPV types and use of emergency services, and no association was found regarding primary care services. Victims of physical abuse and sexual coercion went to the emergency department (ED) more frequently (more than once a year). Also, victims of physical abuse receiving low social support visited an ED more frequently than those with high social support, whereas victims of sexual coercion with high informal social support went more often to the ED compared with victims of sexual coercion with low social support, even after controlling for other covariates. These results seem to suggest that social support has a significant role in the decision to use health care among victims of IPV.

© 2020 National Association of Social Workers.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0360-7283 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlaa007 ID - ref1 ER -