Health status and health care use of Massachusetts women reporting partnerabuse

Background: Studies indicate that women abused by their intimate partners a re at increased risk for a number of health problems and have increased rat es of health care utilization. However, these findings are based mainly on studies using clinic or health plan populations. In this study, we examined the association between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and health concerns a nd health, care utilization in a population-based sample of adult women. Methods: We analyzed data on 2043 women aged 18 to 59 who participated in t he 1998 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a population-based health survey that included questions on IPA. IPA was def ined as experiencing physical violence by, fear of, or control by an intima te partner. Consequences of IPA and self-rated health status and health car e utilization of women experiencing TPA were examined. Results: A total of 6.3% of Massachusetts women aged IS to 59 reported IPA during the past year. Women experiencing IPA were more likely than other wo men to report depression, anxiety, sleep problems, suicidal ideation, disab ilities, smoking, unwanted pregnancy, HN testing, and condom use. Women exp eriencing IPA were less likely to have health insurance, but received routi ne health care at similar rates as other women. Conclusions: These results indicate that women in the general population ex periencing IPA are at increased risk for several serious emotional and phys ical health concerns. Most of these women are in routine contact with healt h care providers. These findings also suggest that the BRFSS may provide a valuable mechanism for tracking state-based TPA prevalence rates over time.