Journal of Women's Health Care
Open Access

Abstract

Decreasing Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy through Routine Screening

Belsy Gonzalez

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is a significant yet preventable public health problem that affects millions of women globally per year (ACOG). Women are especially vulnerable to IPV when pregnant and coincidentally are seen often by practitioners for antenatal visits. Practitioners are in an adventitious position in screening these women for IPV as they are to be able to build rapport with these patients. The aim of this integrative review is to determine if practitioners routinely screen for IPV during pregnancy does it lower the incidence. Research studies were obtained from electronic databases, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and the U.S. National Library of Medicine/PubMed. Studies searched were from 2008 to 2016 and included quantitative and qualitative, national and international, and all were published in English. Twelve studies were used that met the inclusion criteria. The studies showed evidence that routine screening for IPV during prenatal visits increased the identification of IPV, versus not screening. There is evidence that interventions provided to women who screened positive decreased the degree of IPV experienced. There is also evidence that practitioners need more education on IPV screening to feel comfortable routinely screening their patients. There was a limited amount of studies on IVP screening during pregnancy. Therefore, more research is needed to establish a clear consensus.