Does sex matter? Effect of screener sex in intimate partner violence screening.

STUDY HYPOTHESIS: The sex of the individual performing screening affects the willingness of adult male and female ED patients to disclose incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV).

METHODS

We performed a prospective cross-sectional survey at an urban academic medical center. A consecutive sample of adults who presented to the ED from 7:00 am to 00:00 am, 7 days/wk, over an 8-week period, were screened for IPV by 26 trained research assistants (42.3% female; mean age 23 years; 3.8% African American, 53.8% white). Intimate partner violence was detected using a 4-item tool to measure both physical and psychological abuse within the past 6 months. Comparison of medical history and disposition was performed using chi2 tests and t tests. Regression analysis was performed to determine the association of sex and screening outcomes, controlling for patient and screener age and race.

RESULTS

A total of 2853 patients participated (63.0% female; mean age, 36 years; 67.5% African American, 22.9% white). During the study 48 female patients (2.7%) and 21 male patients (2.0%) reported incidents of IPV within the past 6 months. The sex of the screener was not associated with the screening outcomes for male (odds ratio, 0.98; CI, 0.35-2.72) or female patients (odds ratio, 0.90; CI, 0.45-1.82).

CONCLUSIONS

Sex of the screener does not appear to affect disclosure of IPV. These results support the continuation of existing screening practices and call for IPV detection at multiple stages throughout patient care.