Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Patients Presenting with Traumatic Injuries to a Guyanese Emergency Department

Overview

Journal Int J Emerg Med

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Emergency Medicine

Date 2012 May 31

PMID 22643023

Citations 2

Authors

Kendra P Parekh

Stephan Russ

David A Amsalem

Navindranauth Rambaran

Shannon Langston

Seth W Wright

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs throughout the world, and has both short- term and long- term negative health effects. Little is know about the prevalence of IPV in patients presenting to Emergency Departments (EDs) in the developing world. This information is needed to help delineate the scope of the problem and shape effective interventions to combat IPV. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of intimate partner violence in adult patients with acute traumatic injuries presenting to an ED in Georgetown, Guyana.

Methods: Retrospective descriptive analysis of a prospectively collected ED quality assurance database. Patients 18 years or older who presented with a traumatic injury and answered the question "Was the injury inflicted by a domestic partner?" were included in the analysis.

Results: Overall, 38 of 475 (8%) patients admitted to having injuries inflicted by a domestic partner. Thirty- one (81.6%) patients disclosing IPV were female and 7 (18.4%) were male. The self- reported prevalence of IPV in females presenting with traumatic injuries was 16% compared to 2% for males (RR 6.4; 95% CI 2.9-14.3). IPV was the cause of 31 of the 67 (46.3%) women presenting with assaults.

Conclusions: IPV is thought to be a serious problem in Guyana, and this study confirms a high prevalence (16%) of IPV in women presenting with traumatic injuries to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation ED. This is likely a significant underestimate of the true prevalence.

Citing Articles

Exploring the determinants and outcomes of intimate partner violence during pregnancy for Guyanese women: Results from a nationally representative cross-sectional household survey.

Miller L, Contreras-Urbina M Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021; 45:e6.

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Victims of family violence identified in emergency care: Comparisons of mental health and somatic diagnoses with other victims of interpersonal violence by a retrospective chart review.

Siltala H, Kuusinen-Laukkala A, Holma J Prev Med Rep. 2020; 19:101136.

PMID: 32612905 PMC: 7322353. DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101136.

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