TY - JOUR PY - 2004// TI - Detection of domestic violence against women: Survey in a primary health care clinic JO - Medicina (Argentina) A1 - Pontecorvo, C. A1 - Mejia, Roberto A1 - Aleman, Maria A1 - Vidal, A. A1 - Majdalani, Maria Pia A1 - Fayanas, Roberto A1 - Fernandez, Alicia A1 - Perez Stable, Eliseo J. SP - 492 EP - 496 VL - 64 IS - 6 N2 - According to Pan American Health Organization nearly 50% of women suffer chronic domestic violence in Latin America. We evaluated the prevalence of gender based violence (GBV) in women assisted in a University Outpatient Clinic in Buenos Aires. We used a survey originally developed by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in Spanish. The survey was distributed to a consecutive sample of women more than 18 years of age who attended the clinic. Participants were randomized to fill out the questionnaire anonymously (self-administered) or during an interview with the physician in order to test the sensitivity of these two different modalities of data collection. Of 360 eligible women 270, (75%) completed the questionnaire. The respondents had a median age of 45.4 years, only 33% had more than 7 years of formal education and 48% did not live with a partner. Of the 270 respondents, 120 (44%) women reported mistreatment at least once during their lifetime. Of these, 108 (40%) reported psychological GBV, 53 physical GBV and 45 reported sexual GBV. Most of the respondents suffered more than one type of violence. 46 (17%) women reported sexual abuse during childhood, 219 (81%) of participants never had been asked by their physician about domestic violence. Women interviewed by the physician reported GBV more frequently than those completing the self-administered survey (p <0.005). The survey developed by the IPPF is considered a useful tool for screening in a clinical setting.
LA - SN - 0025-7680 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -