Identifying Pregnant Women Experiencing Domestic Violence in an Urban Emergency Department

• NCJ Number: 229767
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 124-135
• Author(s): Elizabeth M. Datner; Douglas J. Wiebe; Colleen M. Brensinger; Deborah B. Nelson
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 12 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 HD36918-04
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes the demographic, socioeconomic, and health status characteristics of pregnant women presenting to the emergency department (ED) who report current domestic violence (DV), elucidates a set of easily collected characteristics more likely to identify pregnant women experiencing DV, and evaluates the predictive value and sensitivity of these factors in correctly identifying pregnant women experiencing DV.

Abstract

The article describes characteristics of pregnant women presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) who are experiencing current violence and presented a screening tool to identify pregnant women experiencing violence. Women completed an in-person interview regarding violence, sociodemographic factors, health status, and drug use. Fifteen percent of women reported at least one episode of violence during the pregnancy. Young age (OR = 3.37, 95 percent CI: 1.79-6.36), current alcohol use (OR = 1.53, 95 percent CI: 1.06-2.19), current marijuana use (OR = 1.96, 95 percent CI: 1.32-2.92), less than a high school education (OR = 1.46, 95 percent CI: 1.01-2.12), and a prior diagnosis of trichomonas (OR = 1.81, 95 percent CI: 1.20-2.72) were significantly related to experiencing current violence. Screening patients using these five characteristics identified 8 out of 10 women reporting violence (sensitivity = 75.6 percent). These results identify a set of predictors that may be helpful in identifying pregnant women who are experiencing current domestic violence. Tables and references (Published Abstract)