Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in an Integrative Medicine Clinic

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to develop and implement an evidence-based in-service on intimate partner violence (IPV) and IPV screening tools in an outpatient integrative medicine setting. The in-service was intended to increase the participants’ knowledge of IPV, IPV screening tools, resources for those experiencing IPV, and increase participants’ perceived need for IPV screening, their confidence in IPV knowledge and screening, and their intent to screen patients for IPV.Background. Intimate partner violence is the physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner. IPV affects millions of Americans each year and may cause short and long-term physical, psychological and reproductive health problems for victims. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends that all women of reproductive age are screened for IPV. Including IPV screening into routine history taking for each patient can identify IPV and reveal opportunities to provide information about the health consequences of IPV and how to overcome the issue through supportive services the patient may not have known about before the screening. Methods. A 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on the topic of IPV and IPV screening was created and presented to healthcare professionals at an integrative medicine office. A descriptive, quantitative project design was used to determine the education's effectiveness in accomplishing the project outcomes, using a pre- and posttest and survey. Results. Six healthcare professionals at the integrative medicine clinic participated in the project. After the presentation, post-surveys and test scores demonstrated an overall increase in their perceived need for IPV screening, confidence in their IPV knowledge and screening tools, intent to screen patients for IPV, as well as their knowledge of IPV, incidence, screening tools, and local resources. Conclusions. An educational in-service delivered via PowerPoint presentation can effectively increase healthcare professionals’ overall knowledge of IPV and IPV screening, as well as their confidence in their knowledge of IPV and intent to screen patients for IPV.