A Pilot Project Exploring Medical Students' Barriers to Screening for Intimate Partner Violence and Reproductive...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Women's Health

Background:

• Healthcare providers often do not screen for intimate partner violence (IPV).
• Lack of provider preparedness and education are key barriers to IPV screening.
• Reproductive coercion is a related concern impacting reproductive health decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore medical students' internal barriers to screening for IPV and reproductive coercion.
• To assess the effectiveness of a curricular intervention (online module + OSCE) in addressing these barriers.

Main Methods:

• Anonymous online survey administered to 118 third-year medical students post-OSCE.
• Survey included open-ended and Likert-type questions.
• Qualitative analysis of responses using an iterative process to identify themes.

Main Results:

• Post-OSCE, 94% of students intended to screen for IPV and 82% for reproductive coercion.
• Two primary barrier categories emerged: inquiry process and managing patient responses.
• Students identified internal barriers related to the screening process itself.

Conclusions:

• The educational module and OSCE offered a low-stakes practice environment.
• The intervention did not fully overcome students' internal barriers to screening for IPV and reproductive coercion.
• Further curricular development is needed to optimize screening behaviors.