Washington, DC--Women who have experienced intimate partner violence are more likely to be in poorer health than women who are not involved in violent relationships, according to a new study published in the January 2002 Annals of Emergency Medicine. (Health Status and Intimate Partner Violence: A Cross-Sectional Study)

The study found women who were physically abused by their partners were more likely to report a history of cocaine abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and nightmares, compared with women who were not physically abused.

"Even though our study was limited to patients seen in one emergency department, we concluded that since half of these women reported a history of intimate partner violence, emergency departments should screen all women for this type of abuse," said Jennifer Brokaw, MD, of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Researchers screened 421 English-speaking female patients, between the ages of 18 and 50 years, who visited a large, urban emergency department in Albuquerque between December 1996 to May 1997. Nearly half of these women reported they had a history of intimate partner violence. Of these, 51 (25.6 percent) reported the most recent assault occurred in the last 12 months, while 146 (73.4 percent) reported the most recent assault occurred more than a year ago.

The American College of Emergency Physicians is a national medical specialty organization with nearly 23,000 members. ACEP is committed to improving the quality of emergency care through continuing education, research and public education. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, ACEP has 53 chapters representing each state, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and a Government Services Chapter representing emergency physicians employed by military branches and other government agencies.
 

---American College of Emergency Physicians

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