New England Surgical Society

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Intimate Partner Violence Screening Training for Surgical Residents
*Ishna Sharma1, Christine Finck2
1University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT;2Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT

Objective(s)
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant health issue, affecting 25% of US women. IPV costs healthcare $5.8 billion/year, with increased medical care and productivity loss. IPV is especially difficult to screen, as it is not more prevalent in any particular demographic group. Studies show 95% of women prefer disclosing IPV to healthcare providers, compared to friends or family. Formal screening training for providers could increase use of effective IPV screening.
Design
Intervention study: Before-After Trial: Pre-Post Survey
Setting
General surgery residents at one academic center.
Patients
Volunteer sample of residents who attended the training anonymously participated in pre- and post-training surveys.
Intervention(s)
1 hour IPV screening training for residents was designed in conjunction with the state anti-IPV coalition. Residents attended this during their weekly residency didactics conference.
Main Outcome Measure(s)
Pre- and post-training questionnaires included 3 demographic questions and 4 questions to assess prior IPV screening or training experience. 7 questions used a scale of 1 to 5 to assess comfort with IPV screening topics. SPSS 16.0 software provided descriptive statistical analysis.
Results
19 residents participated, with mean age 30 years and 74% PGY1-2. 42% had no prior training. 36.8% had no prior screening experience. 89.4% stated they would use IPV screening during residency, and 84.2% after residency. The post-survey scaled question portion demonstrated a mean of 1.01 improvement across all questions, with highest improvement in ability to refer a positively screened patient to local IPV resources.
Conclusions
IPV is a prevalent health concern, and healthcare providers have the potential to be effective screeners. Formal training for surgical residents can be effective in increasing their understanding of IPV and comfort level with screening.


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Street
Port 2
Lighthouse