Evaluating Severity of Injuries for Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Background: Intentional injury continues to be a leading cause of premature death within the United States (1). Within intentional injury resides intimate partner violence (IPV), which affects 1.5-4.4 million women annually. The seriousness of IPV is not always regarded and in many cases ignored by more socially accepted types of intentional injury. IPV is a public health problem which currently accounts for one out of three homicides in America (10). For each IPV homicide, 50% are committed by spouses.
Objective: Due to the seriousness and consequential burdens of intentional injuries, a study was conducted in order to determine the severity of injuries at the Medical College of Virginia. The study was conducted primarily to determine if IPV patients have more severe injuries than other types of intentional injuries.
Methods: A retrospective case-control study was conducted in relation to the severity of injuries. Participant inclusion was determined by those individuals seeking care by the Forensic Nurse Examiners Team at the Emergency Department of the Medical College of Virginia, between the years of 2001-2002. Participants were categorized based on the type of offense, which included intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault (SA), and all other types of assaults (ALL). The severity of injuries was determined by the Injury Severity Score (ISS) standard measurement scale. Basic frequencies and crosstabs were used in relation to demographic characteristics. Univariate analyses using the ANOVA method was used to select a pool of significant variables and a multivariable linear regression model was implemented to fit this pool.
Results: It was found that IPV cases have significantly more severe injuries than sexual assault cases (p=0.00). However, the assault category (ALL) had the most severe injuries than any other group (p=0.00). When IPV cases were compared to sexual assault (SA) and assaults (ALL) combined, IPV injuries were found to be significantly more severe (p=0.39). Overall, the study also found that male injuries were more severe than female injuries (mean male injury=6.19, mean female injury=2.51; p=0.00). Findings also suggest that the type of weapon used (p=0.00), previous MCV encounters (p=0.00), and relationship of the perpetrator to victim (p=0.00) were significant in relation to the Injury Severity Score (ISS).
Conclusion: IPV victims have more severe injuries than victims of sexual assault (SA). Seventy percent of victims had previous MCV encounters. Due to the health consequences of intentional injuries, specifically IPV, it is vital to continue violence assessments. Routine screening provides the best assessment tool and public health prevention for intentional injury. It is suggested that current assessment tools be enhanced to provide a more holistic approach for disclosure of intimate partner violence.
