Prevalence of intimate partner violence disclosed during routine screening in a large general practice

Domestic violence in its myriad shapes and forms is a crime affecting every level of society. Gaining a true understanding of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimology allows for the meaningful provision of intervention services.

To explore the prevalence of IPV disclosure during routine screening in a large general practice in provincial New Zealand.

Data were collected from 13 October 2008 to 30 June 2014 from 6827 individuals screened for IPV on 10 062 occasions and were analysed relative to age, ethnicity, gender, screening outcome, screener and health centre enrolled status.

Analysis indicated an overall ever-positive disclosure rate of IPV of 11.1%, lower than New Zealand studies that place ever-positive prevalence as high as 78%. Maori women disclosed an ever-positive rate of 21.6%, Pacific women 13.2%, compared to 8.9% for NZ European/Other women. Casual patients positively disclosed in 13.7% of instances as opposed to enrolled patients in 10.5%. Disclosure of past abuse was made 1.3 times more often than that of a current abusive situation. Those aged between 16 and 65 years disclosed an ever-positive rate ≥10%. While nurses screened 5.5 times more patients than doctors, the doctors facilitated a higher percentage of positive disclosures than the nurses.

Disclosure rates from a general practice setting do not mirror those of population studies or administrative datasets due to differences in samples and data collection methods. Routine annual screening is effective, with both doctors and nurses providing support for approximately equal numbers of patients in immediate danger.