Domestic violence as a factor associated to women's health problems

To study the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's physical and psychological health. Cross-sectional study. Primary care centers in 3 Andalusian provinces. A total of 425 women, aged 18 to 65 years, were recruited following the same randomisation process in 6 primary care center...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atención primaria 2004-07, Vol.34 (3), p.117-124
Main Authors: Raya Ortega, L, Ruiz Pérez, I, Plazaola Castaño, J, Brun López-Abisab, S, Rueda Lozano, D, García de Vinuesa, L, González Barranco, J M, Garralon Ruiz, L M, Arnalte Barrera, M, Lahoz Rallo, B, Acemel Hidalgo, M D, Carmona Molina, M P
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Battered Women - psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Domestic Violence - statistics & numerical data
Female
Humans
Mental Health - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Socioeconomic Factors
Women's Health
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Summary:To study the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's physical and psychological health. Cross-sectional study. Primary care centers in 3 Andalusian provinces. A total of 425 women, aged 18 to 65 years, were recruited following the same randomisation process in 6 primary care centers. A self-administered structured questionnaire for this study was used to gather the information. As well as sociodemographic variables, the instrument included questions about IPV, physical health indicators (chronic disease and type, lifetime surgeries, days in bed), psychological health (psychological morbidity, use of tranquilizers, antidepressants, pain killers, alcohol and recreational drugs), self-perceived health and social support. Of 425 women, 31.5% ever experienced any type of partner violence. Women experiencing IPV were more likely to suffer a chronic disease. IPV was significantly associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including spending more than 7 days in bed in the last three months (ORa=2.96; CI 95%, 1.00-8.76), psychological morbidity (ORa=2.68; CI 95%, 1.60-4.49) and worse self-perceived health (ORa=1.89; CI 95%, 1.04-3.43), after controlling for potential confounding variables. This study shows that ever experiencing IPV is associated with a worse psychological and self-perceived health. Physical injuries are not the only "evidence" of the presence of IPV. Primary health care professionals are in a privileged position to help women who are abused by their partners.
ISSN:0212-6567