A Novel Intimate Partner Violence Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation

INTRODUCTION

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a prevalent problem with profound health consequences. Research suggests that internal medicine (IM) residents are unprepared to screen for and address IPV. We designed a curriculum to improve IM residents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in caring for IPV survivors.

METHODS

The curriculum was delivered to first-year IM residents from 2016 to 2017 at Johns Hopkins Bayview. Part 1 was 60 minutes long, with a video, evidence-based didactic teaching, and case-based discussion. Part 2 was 90 minutes long, with evidence-based didactic teaching, role-play of patient-provider conversations about IPV, and debriefing about strategies for discussing IPV. We evaluated knowledge, confidence, and self-reported behaviors pre- and postintervention using two-tailed paired t tests.

RESULTS

Thirty-two residents received IPV training. In comparing precurriculum (n = 29, 91% of total participants) and postcurriculum (n = 28, 88% of total participants) surveys, there was significant improvement in knowledge about IPV (p < .001). Postcurriculum, learners reported greater confidence in detecting IPV (p < .001), documenting IPV (p < .001), and referring to resources (p < .001). Participants reported increased comfort with managing difficult emotions about IPV in patients (p < .01) and themselves (p < .001) and increased comfort in discussing IPV with female (p < .001) and male (p < .001) patients. Postcurriculum, all respondents felt they were more skillful in discussing IPV and would be more likely to screen for IPV.

DISCUSSION

Our curriculum improved residents' knowledge, confidence, comfort, and preparedness in screening for and discussing IPV.

Women's Health Curricula in Internal Medicine Residency Programs: A Scoping Review

Background: Despite national efforts to expand women's health education, internal medicine (IM) residents remain unprepared to provide comprehensive care to women. The objectives of this scoping review are to provide an overview of published women's health curricula in IM residency programs and to identify potential areas for improvement. Materials and Methods: Studies were identified using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Web of Science, and MedEdPORTAL. Inclusion criteria included the following: (1) women's health as defined by the authors (2) description of a curriculum (3) designed for IM residents (4) based in North America, and (5) published between 1998 and 2018. Data abstracted included content, educational and assessment methods, and quality. Descriptive analysis was used to compare data. Results: Sixteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The most common women's health topics were intimate partner violence (31%) and menopause (31%). Twelve curricula (75%) were implemented in the outpatient setting. Of the teaching methods, didactics (69%) and in-clinic teaching (44%) were most commonly used. All studies that assessed attitudes, knowledge, and/or behavior showed an improvement post-intervention. No studies evaluated patient outcomes. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first review summarizing published women's health curricula in IM residency. There were a limited number of published articles describing women's health curricula. Although content varied, the curricula were effective in improving attitudes, knowledge, and/or behavior with regard to women's health topics. We encourage IM residency programs to develop and disseminate women's health curricula to inform future improvements and advancements in women's health education.

Intimate partner violence victims as mothers: their messages and strategies for communicating with children to break the cycle of violence

Children whose mothers are victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) are at increased risk of adverse health and psychosocial consequences, including becoming victims or perpetrators of violence in their own relationships. This study aimed to understand the role mothers may play in preventing the perpetuation of violence in their children's lives. We performed semistructured interviews with 18 IPV victims who are mothers and were living at the Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh from July through November 2011. We sought to understand how they communicate with their children about IPV and relationships. These mothers described a desire to explain their IPV experience and offer advice about avoiding violence in relationships. As foundations for these discussions, they emphasized the importance of close relationships and open communication with their children. Although mothers are interested in talking about IPV and relationships and identify communication strategies for doing so, many have never discussed these topics with their children. These mothers need and want an intervention to help them learn how to communicate with their children to promote healthy relationships. Development of a program to facilitate communication between IPV victims and their children could create an important tool to empower mothers to break the cross-generational cycle of domestic violence.