OBJECTIVE: To assess ongoing abuse, psychological symptoms and quality-of-life outcomes in an urban, emergency department population of recently abused women. METHODS: This prospective survey study compared women abused within one year with women who had never been abused. Surveys were completed detailing demographics, help-seeking behavior, psychological symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory), quality-of-life (SF-12), community isolation (Wallin's Scale) and abuse characteristics. Survey questions were repeated at three months. RESULTS: The study population was composed of 67 abused women and 100 non-abused. Follow-up rates were similar (72% and 75% respectively). Over 3 months, individual women who went from being currently abused to not currently abused, reported improvement in feeling more "calm and peaceful" on the quality-of-life instrument (p=0.005) when compared with recently abused women who were not currently abused (and remained un-abused during the study interval). Other psychological symptoms such as anxiety and hostility and quality-of-life factors such as perception of general health showed significant changes (p<0.05) over the study interval. Having someone to confide in (79% of cohort) or having told someone about the abuse (89%) were both factors associated with diminished abuse at 3 months (p=0.001 and p=0.023 respectively). Contact with community domestic violence resources (40%) was associated with a decreased sense of community isolation. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of anxiety and hostility, as well as a sense of general health, improved as abuse status improved over a three-month interval. These results imply that fostering safe social connections for abused women may be beneficial in diminishing psychological symptoms or improving quality of life.
Learning Objectives: Learn of associations between current abuse and quality-of-life/psychological symptoms in an emergency department population of recently abused women. Discuss current knowledge of the effect of community-based interventions on domestic violence outcomes. Identify measures that might be helpful in designing future domestic violence outcomes studies
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Outcomes Research
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.