Intimate Partner Violence

Computer-Based Women’s Health Screening in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Primary Care Clinics

 

Funding Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Investigators: Laura Sadowski MD, MPH (PI), Romina Kee MD, MPH, and William Trick MD

Contact Information:
Laura Sadowski MD, MPH
Collaborative Research Unit of Stroger Hospital, Department of Medicine
312-864-3680
sadowski@cchil.org

 

Project Summary:
Although screening for intimate partner violence (IPV) has been widely recommended by multiple professional and health care organizations, recent systematic reviews of the literature have not found evidence for the effectiveness of screening to improve health outcomes for women exposed to IPV.

The objectives of this study are to establish the cost and effectiveness of routine screening for IPV and referral to IPV services compared to universal education or no intervention on disability, quality of life, utilization of health care services and IPV services, and exposure to IPV, and to identify other potential side effects (adverse and beneficial) of these interventions.

In this protocol, we propose conducting a randomized controlled trial with three arms to establish the impact of screening and referral to services for women disclosing exposure to IPV. In the first arm, participants will be screened, and if disclosing IPV, will receive information on available resources in the community. In arms two and three, participants will not be screened, but one group will receive information on available resources in the community and the other will not. All three groups will be assessed for disability, quality of life, and utilization of health care and IPV services at baseline and at a 12 month follow-up.

This study will be conducted at the several facilities within the Cook County Bureau of Health Services including the Fantus Health Center, the CORE center, other community-based network clinics such as Logan Square and at the Rush- Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center.