Domestic violence in a university emergency department.

BACKGROUND

We attempted to determine the prevalence and demographics of domestic violence (DV) among male and female patients in a university emergency department (ED).

METHODS

The validated Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA) was used. Patients aged 18 years or older seen during 28 randomly selected 4-hour shifts were eligible.

RESULTS

Of the 97 participants in the study, 57 were female. One man and 3 women were victims of present physical DV, with 1 male and 2 female victims of present nonphysical abuse. Three of the 40 men and 22 of the 57 women had been victims of past physical violence. One man and 15 women had been victims of past nonphysical abuse. Alcohol use, suicidal ideation, family history, and psychiatric history were all strongly correlated with DV.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of DV past was significantly higher in the females. Present violence was more rare and less than that reported in other ED studies.