Geodemographic Disparities in Availability of Comprehensive Intimate Partner Violence Screening Services in...

This study examined geodemographic factors associated with availability of comprehensive intimate partner violence (IPV) screening services in Miami-Dade County, Florida. We geocoded 2014 survey data from 278 health facilities and created a population-normalized density surface of IPV screening comprehensiveness. We used correlation analysis and spatial regression techniques to evaluate census tract-level predictors of the mean normalized comprehensiveness score (NCS) for 505 census tracts in Miami-Dade. The population-adjusted density surface of IPV screening comprehensiveness revealed geographic disparities in the availability of screening services. Using a spatial lag regression model, we observed that race and ethnicity are associated with mean NCS by census tract after controlling for age, median gross rent, and receipt of Social Security benefits. The percentage of White non-Hispanic residents was positively associated with NCS, Black non-Hispanic was negatively associated with NCS, while Hispanic-the majority ethnicity in Miami-Dade-was not associated with NCS. This exploratory study may be the first to put IPV screening comprehensiveness on the map, and provides a starting point for addressing urban disparities in the availability of IPV screening services that are shaped by race, ethnicity, zoning, and socioeconomic status.