Violence at Orthopedic Trauma Hospitals in India

Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) involves behavior that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm, and has significant health con-sequences. Given the prevalence of and impact of IPV, various organizations recommend routine IPV screening for women by health-care professionals. Objective: We investigated the feasibility of screening women for IPV at a hospital in India. Specifically, we assessed prevalence of IPV, method of questionnaire administration, response rate, availability of IPV related community services for referrals, environment of screening, and explored perspectives of health professionals regarding in-hospital screening. Study Design: We administered two questionnaires to consenting women; the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS) and Woman Abuse Screening Tool (WAST). Health professionals involved in conducting the study and in managing care for patients were also interviewed