[Validation of the short version of the Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST) in the general population]

Obstacles and Limitations in the Use of Protocols Responding Intimate Partner Violence Against Women from the Health System in Spain

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a public health problem that affects women worldwide. Consequently, victims frequently go to healthcare centers, usually with a cover reason. To address this problem, national and autonomic protocols to respond to IPVAW in health systems have been developed in Spain. In this regard, the role of primary care physicians (PCPs) will be essential for addressing IPVAW, but they could encounter obstacles in doing so. The purpose of this study was to explore how IPVAW is addressed in healthcare centers in Spain. This study synthesized the information available in the protocols to address IPVAW among health care workers in Spain and analyzed it according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Additionally, PCPs' perspectives on these protocols and the nature of IPVAW attention from healthcare centers were explored through a focus group. The findings displayed that, although the protocols mostly conform to WHO guidelines, they are insufficient to address IPVAW. Generally, PCPs were unaware of the existence of the protocols and referred to the lack of training in IPVAW and protocol use as one of the main obstacles to intervening, along with a lack of time and feelings as well as cultural, educational, and political factors. The adoption of measures to ensure that PCPs apply these protocols correctly and to approach PCPs' obstacles for addressing IPVAW in consultations will be crucial for the care of victims.

An integrative review of the literature on screening for gender-based violence during pregnancy: barriers, facilitators, and tools

An integrative review of the literature has been developed to explore barriers and facilitators in screening for gender‐based violence in pregnant women and identify available tools for this screening. Studies were identified via a systematic search on the PubMed, CINAHL Plus (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete), Scopus, and LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature) databases and a manual reverse reference search to obtain literature published between 2015 and 2020. The methodology followed the recommendations made by Whittemore & Knafl. The quality of studies was evaluated using the Critical Skills Appraisal Program tool. Twenty‐three of the 4202 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The principal barriers identified were lack of training for professionals (mainly nurses and midwives), lack of support policies, and lack of human and material resources. The main facilitators were to increase professional training programs on case detection, availability of effective instruments, and greater investment in resources to guarantee safety and referral of cases. With regard to the available tools, the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) continues to be the most widely used, although others such as the Humiliation, Afraid, Rape, and Kick questionnaire (HARK) could be suitable for antenatal care settings.

"Validation of a cyberbullying questionnaire as a screening tool for other forms of intimate-partner violence towards young women"

Background

The use of electronic media is widespread among young people and is a potential tool for the perpetration of intimate-partner violence (IPV) towards women. The aim of this study is to validate two questions focused on harassment and control by electronic tools (HCE-2) as a screening tool for the detection of IPV in young women.

Methods

The data source was the third Community of Madrid IPV survey in 2014. The screening tool consisted of two questions with five possible answers prepared by a group of experts. As the gold standard we used the definition of intimate partner violence based on a 26- question survey. The validity indices (with 95% confidence intervals) were compared between two age groups: 18–24 and 25–29 years.

Results

Six hundred ninty-four women were sampled. The response rate was 68.7%, and 477 surveys were analyzed. The prevalence of IPV was 10.7% (95% CI: 8.2–13.8). HCE-2 was positive in 5.9% (95% CI: 4.1–8.4). The overall efficiency of the test was 93.5% (95% CI: 91.1–96.7), sensitivity 47.1% (95% CI: 33.7–60.8), specificity 99.1% (95% CI: 97.5–99.6), and positive predictive value 85.7% (95% CI: 67.1–94.6). The best validity indices of the questionnaire were observed in women aged 18 to 24 years: overall efficiency of the test 95.1% (95% CI: 92.6–97.7), sensitivity 62.5% (95% CI: 44.5–77.6), specificity 99.6% (95% CI: 97.0–99.9), and positive predictive value 95.2% (95% CI: 71.7–99.4).

Conclusions

The existing need to improve the detection of IPV in young women and the good validity indices observed here justify the recommendation of the HCE-2 questionnaire as a screening tool in young women.