Intimate Partner Violence in a Patient Population with Orthopaedic Trauma: Gender Disparities, Delayed Disclosures,...

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Public Health
• Trauma Care

Background:

• Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue.
• Understanding IPV prevalence and its impact in diverse patient populations is crucial.
• Orthopaedic patients may experience IPV, affecting their recovery and overall health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of IPV across gender groups in patients with orthopaedic injuries.
• To investigate the timing of IPV disclosures during clinical follow-up.
• To examine the association between IPV and clinical outcomes, including return to function.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 314 patients with orthopaedic injuries at two academic hospitals.
• Data collected on IPV experiences, return to function, and overall health at routine clinical follow-ups.
• Cox proportional-hazards regression models used to analyze associations between IPV and functional recovery.

Main Results:

• IPV prevalence was high across all genders: 46% of women, 35% of men, and 100% of gender-diverse participants reported lifetime IPV.
• Disclosure timing varied by gender, with men less likely to disclose at the first visit, especially for sexual IPV.
• Disclosing IPV was associated with significantly lower likelihoods of returning to pre-injury levels of work (HR 0.55) and overall functioning (HR 0.64).

Conclusions:

• IPV is unacceptably prevalent among patients with orthopaedic trauma.
• Gender-specific differences in IPV disclosure timing necessitate tailored clinical strategies.
• IPV significantly hinders recovery and return to function, underscoring its hidden impact in trauma care.