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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Linda Bullock, PhD, RN, FAAN¹, Mary Ann Curry, PhD, RN², Tina Bloom, RN, MS², and Janis Davis, RN, BS¹. (1) Sinclair School of Nursing, University of Missouri, S327 Nursing Bldg, Columbia, MO 65211, 573-882-0234, lbullock@missouri.edu, (2) School of Nursing, Oregon Health and Sciences University, 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd, SN-FAM, Portland, OR 97201-3098

The disclosure of violence during pregnancy can vary depending on how women are assessed, the types of instruments used, and whether they are repeatedly screened during their pregnancies. One thousand pregnant women were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial designed to assess the effects of a nursing case management intervention on the psychosocial well-being of pregnant women experiencing or at risk for abuse. Thirteen percent of the study participants reported current and/or past year abuse, with only 2% reporting current pregnancy abuse. The incidence of reported abuse was much higher among Medicaid funded women (28.9%) than privately insured women (8.7%). Regardless of source of payment, women reporting abuse were significantly younger, less educated, non-white and lower income and had significantly higher stress and lower self-esteem than women not reporting abuse. A high incidence of women reporting intimate partner violence (34%) reported being choked within the past 6 months. We believe significant barriers to reporting abuse, particularly fear of being reported to child protective services, contributed to our low abuse disclosure. These barriers and their affect on practice, research and policy will be discussed in this session. We strongly recommend using multiple measures of violence when determining eligibility for research intervention studies.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.To recognize the differences between private pay and Medicaid women’s disclosure rates of abuse.
• 2.To identify barriers to disclosing abuse during pregnancy.
• 3.To apply the implications of these barriers to clinical practice, research, and policy.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Prenatal Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation