USPSTF Renews Recommendation On Screening For Intimate Partner Violence
| MedPage Today (6/24, Robertson) reports that the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has “renewed its recommendation for intimate partner violence (IPV) screening and its call for more evidence on screening for abuse of older or vulnerable adults.” In a recommendation statement published in JAMA, the task force “recommended that adolescents and adults who are pregnant or postpartum and all women of reproductive age should be screened for intimate partner or domestic abuse.” Authors wrote, “The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that screening for IPV in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant and postpartum, and providing or referring those who screen positive to multicomponent interventions with ongoing support has a moderate net benefit.” The recommendations do not reflect a change from the last USPSTF recommendations in 2018, but one new aspect “is that older and vulnerable adult abuse screening recommendations are now framed around caregiver abuse and neglect.” Healio (6/24, Rhoades) adds that in the task force’s evidence report, “researchers assessed 35 studies that analyzed screening interventions or tools for intimate partner violence. The screening tools did not significantly reduce intimate partner violence or improve quality of life vs. no screening, but the researchers added that the tools may ‘reasonably’ identify women experiencing intimate partner violence.” Additionally, the task force noted that “there is not enough evidence on screening for intimate partner violence in men and women no longer of reproductive age, though one report has suggested screening for violence in men for perpetration may be more effective than screening women.” Overall, the “B-grade recommendation further advocates that” healthcare professionals “provide or refer women who screen positive to ongoing services that provide emotional, behavioral or social support.” (SOURCE: APA Headlines) |
