SCREENING AND COUNSELLING FOR INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE IN PRIMARY CARE : A SYSTEMATIC REWIEW

Emeline Pasdeloup, Maxime Pautrat, Raphaël Chudy

Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence ; Primary Care ; Women ; Couselling

Background:

1 in 3 women worldwide is a victim of physical and/or sexual violence during her lifetime, most often inflicted by an intimate partner. Violence between intimate partners evolves cyclically and becomes progressively more intense if nothing is done to stop it. The physical and mental consequences are significant, and all social categories are affected. The literature on screening is extensive, but that on post-screening interventions much less so.

Research questions:

This study aim was to identify available counselling program to help IPV victim whose effectiveness has been evaluated in primary care.

Method:

Systematic review of articles published since September 2003 up to December 2023 searching through 3 databases: Medline via Pubmed, PsycInfo, and Central via Cochrane Library. Research equation elaborated using a combination of four research topics: women patients, intimate partner violence, counselling, and primary care setting.

Results:

3017 articles were selected by our search strategy, 7 studies were finally included. 6 interventions format was described as brief counselling based on the Psychosocial Readiness Model (significant effectiveness on depression), March of Dimes protocol which includes a brochure with a 15-item safety plan to increase adoption of safety behaviors (efficiency in decreasing threats of abuse), or psychoeducational intervention. 4 mains evaluation criteria were
founded as clinical score focused on mental health or quality of life.

Conclusions:

These results bring to light the usefulness to integrate in primary care some screening on IPV, followed by some counselling intervention which may take various form, usually of short duration. A model inspired by the SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) in the addictology field could be an approach for futures investigations.

Points for discussion:

Parallels between addictology and intimate partner violence

Suggestion of brief intervention