Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, highly prevalent public health problem associated with poor health outcomes, negative impacts on medication behavior, and increased health care utilization and costs. Pharmacists, the most accessible health care providers, are the only provider group not required to be trained on this topic. Training can prepare pharmacists to safely and appropriately care for patients experiencing IPV. This project evaluated a pharmacy-specific continuing professional development module on IPV utilizing a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest study design. Practicing community pharmacists were recruited from a market research panel to complete the online module. A novel method for managing IPV disclosures, the Care, Assess for safety, Refer, and Document (CARD) method, was included in the training. A total of 36 pharmacists completed the study, including a three-month follow-up assessment. Participants reported increased perceived preparedness and knowledge, workplace and self-efficacy, staff preparation, and legal requirements, but not actual knowledge. Practice changes, including identification of legal reporting requirements (19.4%) and development of protocols for managing IPV disclosures (13.9%), were reported at follow-up. This is the first examination of an educational module on the topic of IPV for pharmacists and it positively impacted pharmacists’ preparedness and practice behaviors related to IPV over an extended follow-up period.
Highlights
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health problem
This study is the first to report an evaluation of the effectiveness of a pharmacy-specific continuing professional development module on intimate partner violence
Intimate partner violence is a prevalent threat to the health and well-being of patients
Summary
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health problem. The Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention estimate that 27.3% of women and 11.5% of men experience IPV in their lifetime [1]. Victims experience acute health impacts, from injuries and sexually transmitted infections to death [3]. They suffer long-term health impacts, including traumatic brain injury and neurological disorders resulting from injuries, gastrointestinal disorders, gynecological disorders, and the exacerbation of chronic medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, and asthma [2,4,5,6]. The Perceived Preparation scale assesses how prepared pharmacists feel to work with patients exposed to IPV. 18 True/False and multiple choice items about IPV These Background Scales were utilized to assess learning objectives related to knowledge and awareness of IPV, the impact of IPV on patient health, as well as identifying misinformation.
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