PREVALENCE OF INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE IN WOMEN TREATED AT COMMUNITY-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

Context. - The majority of prior studies examining intimate partner ab use in the emergency department (ED) setting have been conducted in la rge, urban tertiary care settings and may not reflect the experiences of women seen at community hospital EDs, which treat the majority of E D patients in the United States.Objective. - To determine the prevalen ce of intimate partner abuse among female patients presenting for trea tment in community hospital EDs and describe their characteristics. De sign. - An anonymous survey conducted from 1995 through 1997 inquiring about physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Setting. - Eleven commun ity EDs in Pennsylvania and California. Participants. - All women aged 18 years or older who came to the ED during selected shifts. Main Out come Measures. - Reported acute trauma from abuse, past-year physical or sexual abuse, and lifetime physical or emotional abuse. Results. - Surveys were completed by 3455 (74%) of 4641 women seen. The prevalenc e of reported abuse by an intimate partner was 2.2% (95% confidence in terval [CI], 1.7%-2.7%) for acute trauma from abuse, 14.4% (95% CI, 13 .2%-15.6%) for past-year physical or sexual abuse, and 36.9% (95% CI, 35.3%-38.6%) for lifetime emotional or physical abuse. California had significantly higher reported rates of past-year physical or sexual ab use (17% vs 12%, P < .001) and lifetime abuse (44% vs 31%, P < .001) t han Pennsylvania. Logistic regression modeling identified 4 risk facto rs for reported physical, sexual, or acute trauma from abuse within th e past year: age, 18 to 39 years (odds ratio [OR], 2.2; 95% CI, 1.7-3. 0); monthly income less than $1000 (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3-2.1); childre n younger than 18 years living in the home (OR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.5-2.6); and ending a relationship within the past year (OR, 7.0; 95% CI, 5.5- 8.9). Conclusion. - If the prevalence of abuse in community hospitals throughout the United States is similar to the range of prevalence est imates found in this study, then heightened awareness of intimate part ner abuse is warranted for patients presenting to the ED.