Recognizing intimate partner violence in primary care : Western Cape, South Africa
Date
2012-01
Authors
Joyner, Kate
Mash, Robert
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLoS One
Abstract
Introduction: Interpersonal violence in South Africa is the second highest contributor to the burden of disease after HIV/
AIDS and 62% is estimated to be from intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to evaluate how women
experiencing IPV present in primary care, how often IPV is recognized by health care practitioners and what other diagnoses
are made.
Methods: At two urban and three rural community health centres, health practitioners were trained to screen all women for
IPV over a period of up to 8 weeks. Medical records of 114 thus identified women were then examined and their reasons for
encounter (RFE) and diagnoses over the previous 2-years were coded using the International Classification of Primary Care.
Three focus group interviews were held with the practitioners and interviews with the facility managers to explore their
experience of screening.
Results: IPV was previously recognized in 11 women (9.6%). Women presented with a variety of RFE that should raise the
index of suspicion for IPV– headache, request for psychiatric medication, sleep disturbance, tiredness, assault, feeling
anxious and depressed. Depression was the commonest diagnosis. Interviews identified key issues that prevented health
practitioners from screening.
Conclusion: This study demonstrated that recognition of women with IPV is very low in South African primary care and adds
useful new information on how women present to ambulatory health services. These findings offer key cues that can be
used to improve selective case finding for IPV in resource-poor settings. Universal screening was not supported by this
study.
Description
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
The original publication is available at www.plosone.org/
The original publication is available at www.plosone.org/
Keywords
Intimate partner violence (IPV), Violence against women, Interpersonal violence
Citation
Joyner, K. & Mash, R. 2012. Recognizing intimate partner violence in primary care : Western Cape, South Africa. PLoSOne, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0029540.