Waging War on Intimate Partner Violence

Unlike other diseases and social disorders, intimate partner violence (IPV) requires a diagnosis and a victim before preventative actions can be taken. Diagnosing IPV is challenging because the clinical characteristics of a victim of intimate partner violence—bruises, broken bones—are not unique to IPV. Consequently, physicians rely mostly on reporting by the victims who are often unwilling or unable to report the cause of their injuries.

As facial specialists, dentists in general and oral surgeons in particular, are uniquely positioned to intervene in cases of suspected IPV. Drs. Halpern and Dodson lead the specialty in a body of work that identifies markers for domestic violence. This has led to the development of a significant new predictive model to identify women whose injuries resulted from intimate partner violence.

Tools for Caregivers on the Front Lines

There is a lot of published literature suggesting associations between certain factors, such as age, race, socio-economic status, education, and IPV. “While these associations describe the problem, they don’t help healthcare professionals identify victims who already may be experiencing a cycle of IPV,” reports Dr. Halpern. “Our goal has been to look at data that is readily available at the point of caring for patients who present with injuries to see if these factors can help identify wore injuries were likely to have been caused by IPV.”

“Often, factors that traditionally help screen for IPV aren’t available at the point of care,” adds Dr. Dodson. “Our most recent study is notable in that it uses readily available data to facilitate early diagnosis of intimate partner violence.”

Bibliography

Halpern LR, Dodson TB. A predictive model to identify women with injuries related to intimate partner violence. J Am Dent Assoc 2006; 137:604-609. (Cover story)

Halpern LR, Susarla S, Finkel M, Dodson TB. Injury location and screening questionnaires as markers for intimate partner violence. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 1255-61, 2005.