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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Sunni Lyn Mumford, Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, 617-499-6617, smumford@hsph.harvard.edu, Lise Fried, DSc, MS, Institute for Community Health, Cambridge Health Alliance, 163 Gore Street, Cambridge, MA 02141, Gretchen Sherwood, Cambridge Public Health Department, 119 Windsor Street, Ground Level, Cambridge, MA 02139, Megan Gerber, MD, MPH, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, 1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, and Kathleen Harney, MD, Womens Health Center - Cambridge, Cambridge Health Alliance, 1493 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139.

DEVELOPMENT: Domestic violence (DV) is a major public health problem. Yet, the benefit of universal screening in healthcare settings remains controversial and has not been directly linked to improved health outcomes. Most patients welcome screening. Computerized screening is private and allows for concomitant delivery of basic education and resource information. Prevention Against Violent Experiences (PAVE) is a collaborative project between a local health department, a medical system, and a community-based research institute. We piloted a computerized DV screening program for two Women's Health Clinics at a community-based public hospital system which serves a diverse, underserved population. The goals of the project are to increase screening rates in the clinics, provide advocacy to abused women patients and to measure the change in health status after screening and intervention. IMPLEMENTATION: DV response training for providers and clinic personnel is an integral part of this intervention. We will review the initial phases of the project which included 1) staff training, 2) development of the software, and 3) implementation of screening. EVALUATION: Pre-intervention screening rates will be based on data from a retrospective medical record review, beginning six months prior to the training and screening intervention. We will examine 300 records for documentation of DV identification and referral. Differences in rates between types of visit (gynecological, prenatal, postpartum), and language group (English, Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Creole) will also be determined. Evaluation of the staff-training program will be based on pre- and post-training survey results of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify potential barriers to DV screening in the hospital setting and discuss potential solutions.
• Describe the potential benefits of computerized screening for DV in a diverse population including non-English-speakers.
• Analyze the changes in staff knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about DV after training on identifying and helping victims.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Screening

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered