Detecting Ongoing Intimate Partner Violence in the Emergency Department Using a Simple 4-Question Screen: The Ovat
Violence and Victims › Vol. 19 Nbr. 3, June 2004
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Summary
We wanted to prospectively evaluate the use of a brief screening tool for ongoing intimate partner violence (IPV), the OVAT, and to validate this tool against the present Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA). The design was a prospective survey during randomized 4-hour shifts in an urban emergency department setting. The scale consists of four questions developed based on our previous work. The ISA was compared as the gold standard for detection of present (ongoing) IPV. Of 362 eligible patients presenting during 75 randomized 4-hour shifts, 306 (85%) completed the study. The prevalence of ongoing IPV using the OVAT was 31% (95% CI 26% to 36%). For the ISA, the prevalence was 20% (95% CI 16% to 25%). Compared with the ISA, the sensitivity of the OVAT in detecting ongoing IPV was 86%, specificity 83%, negative predictive value 96%, positive predictive value 56%, with an accuracy of 84%. In conclusion, four brief questions can detect ongoing IPV to aid in identifying the victim.
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Detecting Ongoing Intimate Partner Violence in the Emergency Department Using a Simple 4-Question Screen: The Ovat
Studies suggest that 8% to 12% of women experience some form of intimate partner violence (IPV) in any given year (Wilt & Olson, 1996). Detection of IPV is difficult without a systematic approach and screening of all patients presenting for medical care (Abbott, Ernst, Nick, Weiss, Houry, & Mills, 1997; Hornson Koziol-McLain, & Lowenstein, 1995; Goldberg & Tamlanovich, 1984; McLeer, Anwar, & Herman, 1989). Uncovering the victims of ongoing IPV in the emergency department (ED) or other acute care setting who are in need of immediate assistance and referral requires universal screening using a tool that is accurate, safe, quick, and reliable. Previous studies of partner violence detection have involved use of proposed protocols that detect lifetime prevalence of IPV, or cumbersome scales that are not practical in the acute care setting (Brown, Lent Schmidt, & Sas, 2000; Feldhaus, Koziol-McLain, Amsury, Norton, Lowenstein, & Abbott, 1997; Hudson ...
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