Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on the Intimate Partner Violence Screening Behaviors of College-Based Health Care Providers

• Main Author: Hill, Sarah K
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2016
• Subjects: intimate partner violence; screening; primary care; college campus; provider training; intervention; Clinical Psychology; Health Psychology
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3091; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4494&context=etd

Over one million women in the United States are physically, sexually, or emotionally abused by a partner or former partner every year. Women between the ages of 18 and 34 are the most likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV), with prevalence rates for that group double the overall national average. Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended universal screening for all women of child-bearing age, compliance with this recommendation remains low. The present study examined the effectiveness of an asynchronous educational intervention to increase perceived knowledge, actual knowledge, and screening behaviors among 44 college-based health care providers. Data were collected using the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS). Results indicated that participation in the educational intervention did not have a significant effect on provider knowledge or screening behaviors. A positive trend was observed for perceived knowledge and knowledge regardless of treatment condition, but not for screening behaviors. The lack of significant findings may have been related to insufficient sample size and low power. Recruitment was challenging, despite multiple strategies and the offer of one free continuing education credit for all participants. Future research should explore how college health care providers prefer to engage in clinically informed research and whether IPV screening is viewed as an important clinical practice.