Sr. Dearwater et al., PREVALENCE OF INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE IN WOMEN TREATED AT COMMUNITY-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS, JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, 280(5), 1998, pp. 433-438
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.