Dr. Elizabeth Cox, associate professor of pediatrics at UW-Madison, in collaboration with Laurie Thompsen, MSW (West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence) and Dr. Danielle Davidov (West Virginia University), received a Tier 1 Eugene Washington Engagement Award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. This award will develop a collaborative focused on improving screening for intimate partner violence (IPV) in healthcare settings. Screening for IPV can increase identification by 133%, and both providers and patients, including victims, are generally supportive of screening. However, screening rates among physicians are low, and current practices are not effective.
As noted by the project team in their successful proposal, “Seven million US women and five million men experience IPV annually. Although the Affordable Care Act mandates coverage for screening to detect IPV, compliance with this mandate is hampered by lack of evidence about patient-centered screening methods.”
The funding will support the establishment of crucial partnerships between health services researchers, IPV victims and survivors, and other stakeholders such as healthcare providers, policymakers, advocacy groups, and the criminal justice system. The collaborative aims to develop questions for further research regarding effective screening methods and an evidence base for addressing IPV in healthcare settings.