A Systematic Review of Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Interventions Effects on Mental Health

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health problem. It is estimated that three out of ten women will experience IPV. IVP is associated with a variety of negative mental health outcomes, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), depression, and substance abuse. What is not known is the depth and extent of IPV interventions and if these will improve the detrimental effects of this type of violence on mental health. Aims: This purpose of this systematic review is to examine whether interventions for intimate partner violence actually improve mental health outcomes. Methods: Three databases were searched for intervention studies (experimental studies or meta-analyses of experiments): PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsychInfo. The key words used in the search were “interventions ” and “intimate partner violence”. The search parameters were research articles in English, human, adult, women, and published in the past 10 years (2003-2013). From a total of 301 articles found, 62 articles were chosen for closer screening. This closer screening led to a further reduction to 20 full text articles chosen to investigate further for eligibility. Two researchers reviewed thes