A National Survey of Intimate Partner Violence Policy and Practice in U.S. Children’s Hospitals
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-3-2023
Identifier
DOI: 10.1007/s10896-022-00384-8
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to 1) assess intimate partner violence (IPV) policy and standard practices of United States (US) children’s hospitals, 2) describe system-level barriers to addressing IPV within children’s hospitals, and 3) explore potential associations between hospital system factors and standard IPV practices. For this cross-sectional survey of US children’s hospitals, we recruited a single individual from each hospital to complete an anonymous survey assessing hospital IPV policy and institution-level practice standards. Participants could upload their hospital’s IPV policy for review. We recruited via professional listservs and snowball sampling. Among 36 respondents, most were at academic (94%) and/or free-standing (66%) children’s hospitals in an urban setting (77%). Most (79%) reported having a hospital IPV policy. Most policies included standard response to IPV disclosure (86%), guidelines for child protective services (CPS) reporting related to IPV (75%), IPV documentation (71%), and IPV screening (68%). Review of provided policies revealed variability in other components, including indications for CPS reporting, which were subjective at some institutions. Most (71%) reported their hospital actively partnered with a community IPV agency. Hospitals that partnered with a community IPV agency were more likely to report employee IPV education (84% vs. 40%, p 0.02), availability of an IPV advocate (76% vs. 20%, p 0.006), and use of environmental IPV cues (e.g., posters; 80% vs. 40%, p 0.04). This exploratory study found variability in IPV policy and institution-level practices between hospitals. Further work is needed to better define and disseminate best practices to address IPV in children’s hospitals.
Journal Title
Journal of Family Violence
Volume
38
First Page
585
Last Page
595
Recommended Citation
Randell, K.A., Jarvis, L.R., Murray, A. et al. A National Survey of Intimate Partner Violence Policy and Practice in U.S. Children’s Hospitals. J Fam Viol 38, 585–595 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-022-00384-8
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