Abstract
BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a human rights violation that is pervasive worldwide, and is particularly critical for women during the reproductive period. IPV includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Nurses on in-patient postpartum units are well-positioned to screen women for IPV, yet low screening rates suggest that barriers to screening exist. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify the frequency of screening for IPV, (b) the most important barriers to screening, (c) the relationship between the barriers to screening and the frequency of screening for types of abuse, and (d) to identify other factors that contribute to the frequency of screening for IPV.MethodsIn 2008, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 96 nurses from postpartum inpatient units in three Canadian urban hospitals. The survey included the Barriers to Abuse Assessment Tool (BAAT), adapted for postpartum nurses (PPN). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were used to predict barriers to screening for each type of IPV.ResultsThe frequency of screening varied by the type of abuse with highest screening rates found for physical and emotional abuse. According to the BAAT-PPN, lack of knowledge was the most important barrier to screening. The BAAT-PPN total score was negatively correlated with screening for physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Using OLS regression models and after controlling for demographic characteristics, the BAAT-PPN explained 14%, 12%, and 11% of the variance in screening for physical, sexual and emotional abuse, respectively. Fluency in the language of the patient was negatively correlated with screening for each type of abuse. When added as Step 3 to OLS regression models, language fluency was associated with an additional decrease in the likelihood of screening for physical (beta coefficient = -.38, P < .001), sexual (beta coefficient = -.24, P = .05), and emotional abuse (beta coefficient = -.48, P < .001) and increased the variance explained by the model to 25%, 17%, and 31%, respectively.ConclusionsOur findings support an inverse relationship between rates of screening for IPV and nurses' perceptions of barriers. Barriers to screening for IPV, particularly related to knowledge and language fluency, need to be addressed to increase rates of screening on postpartum units.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a human rights violation that is pervasive worldwide, and is critical for women during the reproductive period
Barriers to screening for IPV Findings from this study suggest that systemic barriers contributed to low rates of screening for IPV
Inability to overcome the barriers to screening means a loss of opportunity to intervene and to break the cycle of IPV
Summary
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a human rights violation that is pervasive worldwide, and is critical for women during the reproductive period. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a human rights violation that is pervasive worldwide, and crosses all social, economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries [1]. IPV-related injuries result in increased reproductive health risks including placental abruption [10], preterm labour [5,6,10,11,12,13], preterm birth [14], antepartum haemorrhage [15], delivery of a low birth weight infant [10,16], and chorioamnionitis [17]. In a US study of 3,542 women who experienced and reported IPV during the postpartum period, 77% were injured, but only 23% received medical treatment for their injuries [19]. Women who experience IPV are more likely to be identified during health care encounters if screening occurs [7,20,21]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
