IV. view from the states: surveillance of intimate partner violence
Health status and health care use of Massachusetts women reporting partner abuse

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(00)00236-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Background: Studies indicate that women abused by their intimate partners are at increased risk for a number of health problems and have increased rates of health care utilization. However, these findings are based mainly on studies using clinic or health plan populations. In this study, we examined the association between intimate partner abuse (IPA) and health concerns and health care utilization in a population-based sample of adult women.

Methods: We analyzed data on 2043 women aged 18 to 59 who participated in the 1998 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a population-based health survey that included questions on IPA. IPA was defined as experiencing physical violence by, fear of, or control by an intimate partner. Consequences of IPA and self-rated health status and health care utilization of women experiencing IPA were examined.

Results: A total of 6.3% of Massachusetts women aged 18 to 59 reported IPA during the past year. Women experiencing IPA were more likely than other women to report depression, anxiety, sleep problems, suicidal ideation, disabilities, smoking, unwanted pregnancy, HIV testing, and condom use. Women experiencing IPA were less likely to have health insurance, but received routine health care at similar rates as other women.

Conclusions: These results indicate that women in the general population experiencing IPA are at increased risk for several serious emotional and physical health concerns. Most of these women are in routine contact with health care providers. These findings also suggest that the BRFSS may provide a valuable mechanism for tracking state-based IPA prevalence rates over time.

Section snippets

Background

An estimated 0.9% to 13.3% of women in the United States are physically abused each year by an intimate partner.1, 2, 3, 4 In addition to injuries and deaths resulting from physical violence, women abused by their intimate partners are more likely than other women to experience a number of emotional and physical health problems.5, 6, 7, 8 Most studies examining the health concerns associated with intimate partner abuse (IPA) have been based on clinic9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or health

Methods

The present analyses are based on data collected as part of the Massachusetts BRFSS from 1 January to 31 December 1998. The BRFSS is a continuous, random-digit-dial, telephone survey of adults aged ≥18, conducted by state departments of health in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The survey methodology uses stratified random sampling with probability of selection related to the number of adults and telephone lines in the household and, in Massachusetts,

Results

Of the 2043 women aged 18 to 59 who responded to the 1998 Massachusetts BRFSS, a total of 6.3% (n=115) reported some form of IPA during the past year: 3.7% reported being frightened by their partners’ anger or threats, 3.6% reported being controlled by their partners, and 2.7% reported physical violence by their partners during the past 12 months (Table 1). The overlap among the three constructs of fear, control, and physical violence is presented in Figure 1. The frequency of refusals or

Conclusions

In this large population-based survey, we found that Massachusetts women aged 18 to 59 reporting IPA in the past year are at increased risk for a number of serious emotional and physical health concerns, including depression, anxiety, sleep problems, suicidal ideation, disabilities, and concerns regarding HIV infection. These findings are consistent with studies based on clinic or health plan populations. High rates of smoking (50.8%) and unwanted pregnancy (39.2%) among women reporting IPA are

Acknowledgements

These analyses were conducted as part of the Women Abuse Tracking in Clinics and Hospitals (WATCH) Project at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (grant #U17/CCU115221-02-1).

References (43)

  • Bachman R, Saltzman LE. Violence against women: estimates from the redesigned survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department...
  • The Commonwealth Fund Commission on Women’s Health. National Survey of Women’s Health: survey of women’s health...
  • M.A Straus et al.

    Physical violence in American familiesrisk factors and adaptations to violence in 8,145 families

    (1990)
  • S.A Eisenstat et al.

    Domestic violence

    NEJM

    (1999)
  • Coker AL, Smith PH, Bethea L, Remsburg MJ, McKeown RE. Physical health consequences of intimate partner violence. Paper...
  • S.L Martin et al.

    Domestic violence and sexually transmitted diseasesthe experience of prenatal care patients

    Public Health Rep

    (1999)
  • H Grimstad et al.

    Abuse history and health risk behaviors in pregnancy

    Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand

    (1998)
  • J McFarlane et al.

    Abuse during pregnancyassociations with maternal health and infant birth weight

    Nurs Res

    (1996)
  • J McCauley et al.

    The “battering syndrome”prevalence and clinical characteristics of domestic violence in primary care internal medicine practices

    Ann Int Med

    (1995)
  • J.V Domino et al.

    Prior physical and sexual abuse in women with chronic headacheclinical correlates

    Headache

    (1987)
  • Lifetime and annual incidence of intimate partner violence and resulting injuries—Georgia, 1995

    MMWR Morb Mort Wkly Rep

    (1998)
  • Cited by (0)

    View full text