Abuse Screening
Problems addressed
Low ability to identify victims of domestic/sexual violence
Violence against women
Effectiveness

Promising

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Promising

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Life periods served
Adults (18 to 59 years)
Where the program was applied
Ambulatory - Health service centers
Country of application
United States
Description

This is an evaluation instrument for the detection of emotional, physical, and sexual violence against pregnant women. This is a multiple-question questionnaire administered by the physician during the first prenatal consultations. It provides information about those women’s past and present to assess the severity and frequency of the abuse and consequent injuries.

Impact evaluations

A quasi-experimental study conducted in seven health clinics showed that using the screening protocol contributed to an increased annual detection of pregnant women who were victims of violence. After the 12-month follow-up period, the assessment protocol identified 7% of pregnant women who were victims of abuse and, of those, 53% received referrals, whereas no abuse was identified and no referrals were made for the pregnant women in the comparison group [1].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Wiist, W. H. & McFarlane, J. (1999). The effectiveness of an abuse assessment protocol in public health prenatal clinics. American Journal of Public Health, 89(8), 1217–1221. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.89.8.1217

Information source