Association of Intimate Partner Violence Exposure with Health Checkup Participation and Unmet Medical Needs: A Longitudinal Study of Married Adults

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern worldwide.

This study examined the association of IPV exposure with healthcare utilization behaviors among married adults in South Korea.

A population-based longitudinal study.

We analyzed a nationwide sample of 14,511 married individuals with 121,477 observations.

Victimization from non-physical or physical forms of IPV during the past year was surveyed. This study focused on two dependent variables: engagement in health checkups and unmet medical needs during the past year. Generalized estimating equations were employed to determine the association between exposure to non-physical or physical IPV, unmet medical needs, and engagement in health checkups. Associations were presented as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Of the participants, 18.3% reported non-physical IPV victimization and 0.9% reported physical IPV victimization. In the adjusted model, compared to that of those not exposed to IPV, those exposed to non-physical or physical IPV had a 0.90-fold (95% CI 0.87-0.95) and 0.72-fold (95% CI 0.61-0.85) lower odds of engagement in health checkups, respectively. Similarly, compared to those not exposed to IPV, those exposed to non-physical or physical IPV had a 1.41-fold (95% CI 1.15-1.74) and 3.06-fold (95% CI 1.75-5.37) higher odds of experiencing unmet medical needs, respectively.

This study found that exposure to IPV is linked to non-engagement in health checkups and unmet medical needs. Furthermore, this association was particularly pronounced among those who experienced direct physical IPV from their spouses.