Interventions to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence among Asian Women: A Systematic Review

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship. Globally, about 30% of women reported having experienced either severe physical or sexual violence, or an emotionally abusive act, from a partner. Asian American women are more likely to experience IPV, yet it is highly underreported. Little is known about effective intervention(s) for Asian women in the United States. Objective This review seeks to find and recommend effective intervention(s) to reduce IPV among Asian women in the USA. Methods Search words such as intimate partner violence, Asian women, violence against women, and interventions were entered into the following databases: Academic Search Premier, Medline, CINAHL plus, and EBSCO. A total of 43 articles published between 1999 and 2019 were generated. Fifteen intervention articles written in English language were used for the review. Articles excluded were those that involved workplace violence, correlational design, or reviews. Results Different interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), economic empowerment, advocacy interventions, counseling and supportive care, motivational interview, gender dialogue group sessions, IPV screening intervention and psychoeducation were implemented to reduce IPV. Results showed that none of the interventions alone was particularly effective in reducing IPV. CBT and gender dialogue group sessions were effective when combined with economic empowerment. Psychoeducation combined with or incorporated into CBT were effective in reducing IPV; whereas intimate partner screening intervention was found ineffective. Conclusion Since IPV in Asian communities is attributed to low educational levels among women, patriarchal culture, and stigma, we suggest that a multicomponent intervention that involves advocacy interventions and psychoeducation incorporated into CBT will be effective in reducing IPV among Asian women in the USA. Implication This review calls for the need to implement interventions that are in line with local cultural norms and expectations