Screening for Family Violence: What's an Evidence-Based Doctor To Do?

Editorials2 March 2004Screening for Family Violence: What's an Evidence-Based Doctor To Do?Mark S. Lachs, MD, MPHMark S. Lachs, MD, MPHFrom Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-140-5-200403020-00017 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail It was simply a matter of time before someone would attempt to apply the medical and public health screening paradigm to family violence. After all, it appears to be quite a natural fit on the face of it. Family violence in all its pernicious forms is prevalent (1) and certainly erodes quality of life (2). Perpetrators of family violence often isolate their victims from individuals who can help (3), potentially placing the primary care physician in the unique position of being the only one capable of identifying an abusive situation outside the abuser–victim dyad. In addition, over the past 2 ...References1. National Institute of Justice, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence against Women: Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey. November 1998. Available at www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/172837.pdf. Google Scholar2. Coker AL, Smith PH, Bethea L, King MR, McKeown RE. Physical health consequences of physical and psychological intimate partner violence. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:451-7. [PMID: 10810951] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Breckman R, Adelman R. Strategies for Helping Victims of Elder Mistreatment. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1988. Google Scholar4. Schwartz LM, Woloshin S, Fowler FJ, Welch HG. Enthusiasm for cancer screening in the United States. JAMA. 2004;291:71-8. [PMID: 14709578] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Nelson HD, Nygren P, McInerney Y, Klein J. Screening women and elderly adults for family and intimate partner violence: a review of the evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:387-96. LinkGoogle Scholar6. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.. Screening for family and intimate partner violence: recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:382-6. LinkGoogle Scholar7. Sugg NK, Inui T. Primary care physicians' response to domestic violence. Opening Pandora's box. JAMA. 1992;267:3157-60. [PMID: 1593735] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Feinstein AR, Horwitz RI. Problems in the "evidence" of "evidence-based medicine". Am J Med. 1997;103:529-35. [PMID: 9428837] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Mark S. Lachs, MD, MPHAffiliations: From Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021.Grant Support: By a National Institute on Aging Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24AG022399).Disclosures: None disclosed.Corresponding Author: Mark S. Lachs, MD, MPH, Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 1300 York Avenue, Box 39, New York, NY 10021. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoScreening for Family and Intimate Partner Violence: Recommendation StatementU.S. Preventive Services Task Force*Screening Women and Elderly Adults for Family and Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of the Evidence for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Heidi D. Nelson , Peggy Nygren , Yasmin McInerney , and Jonathan Klein Screening for Family and Intimate Partner Violence John C. Nelson and Carden Johnston Screening for Family and Intimate Partner Violence Christina Nicolaidis , and the American Medical Women's Association and The Physicians Against Violence Interest Group of the Society of General Internal MedicineScreening for Family Violence: What's an Evidence-Based Doctor To Do? 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Nelson, MD, MPH and Carden Johnston, MDScreening for Family and Intimate Partner ViolenceChristina Nicolaidis, MD, MPH, and the American Medical Women's Association and The Physicians Against Violence Interest Group of the Society of General Internal MedicineScreening for Family Violence: What's an Evidence-Based Doctor To Do?Ned Calonge, MD, MPH 2 March 2004Volume 140, Issue 5Page: 399-400KeywordsDomestic violenceEvidence based medicineGeriatricsMotivationPrevention, policy, and public healthPrimary care physiciansPulmonary embolismQualitative studiesQuality of lifeSpecificity ePublished: 2 March 2004 Issue Published: 2 March 2004 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...