Research Symposium

BIO

I am a third-year student from Fleming Island, Florida studying International Affairs while also taking all classes on the pre-medicine route. I am doing so with hopes of attending medical school in the near future and obtaining my MD. While I am open to the wide variety of careers that are available as a physician, I have current interests in pediatrics, international medicine, and emergency medicine. These interests have become passions of mine as I have a spent a considerable amount of time studying and working within the public health realm of less-developed communities domestically and internationally. I hope to one day work as a physician in these less-developed communities, bringing healing to those who may not have access otherwise. The Global Health Collaboration Project (GHCP) with the Florida State University College of Medicine has offered the unique opportunity to work with like-minded peers and professionals to hopefully better the community health of a rural village in Honduras. My work with the Women's Health team of the GHCP is directed towards assisting women, and as seen through this poster, specifically pregnant women by implementing future interventions to gender-based and intimate partner violence.

Global Interventions in Addressing Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects ~324,000 pregnant women each year. Abuse during pregnancy can cause serious maternal and fetal health complications including peripartum bleeding, preterm labor, low-birth weight infants, and perinatal death. IPV is especially prevalent for women in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 37% of women in the lowest-income countries having experienced physical and/or sexual IPV in their life. Obstetric health visits present a unique and vital opportunity to identify and support victims of IPV throughout and following pregnancy.
A literature review was conducted to evaluate domestic and international methods of intervention in addressing IPV during pregnancy. The results revealed three key strategies: improved IPV screening throughout pregnancy, supportive counseling services for victims of IPV, and male engagement and education against IPV. IPV screening was associated with lower mean danger and recurrence of IPV, as well as improvements in quality of life, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use. Studies demonstrated a 53% acceptance of referrals to community resources and counseling services among women who screened positive for IPV. Supportive counseling was associated with significant reductions in mean danger and acts of violence, and increased use of safety behaviors. Male engagement and education, specifically when started at a younger age, resulted in less perpetration of IPV and improved conflict resolution skills.
Interventions targeted at reducing IPV during pregnancy should be multifaceted and implemented routinely. Effective methods of doing so include IPV screening, counseling services for victims, and male engagement and education programs.

Keywords: Intimate partner violence during pregnancy