Andrew (Drew) Rhoades , 2025-06-24 16:39:00
Key takeaways:
- Clinicians should screen for violence in pregnant or postpartum women and women of reproductive age.
- Health care providers should still screen any person who expresses concern or show signs of abuse.
Clinicians should screen for intimate partner violence in women who are postpartum or pregnant and women of reproductive age, according to a final recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The B-grade recommendation further advocates that health care providers provide or refer women who screen positive to ongoing services that provide emotional, behavioral or social support.
Clinicians should screen for violence in pregnant or postpartum women and women of reproductive age. Image: Adobe Stock
USPSTF also finalized an I-grade recommendation, declaring that there is insufficient evidence on using screening tools for caregiver abuse of vulnerable or older adults.
The recommendations align with the task force’s draft recommendations from last year and their 2018 recommendations on the topic.
“Intimate partner violence can have devastating consequences on health and well-being and often goes unrecognized,” USPSTF member David Chelmow, MD, chair of obstetrics-gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University, said in a press release. “Fortunately, screening women of reproductive age is an effective way for clinicians to connect those who need it to care.”
According to CDC data, around 6% of people with a recent live birth experienced sexual, emotional or physical violence during pregnancy by a current intimate partner. Additionally, more than 66% of people who experienced violence by a current intimate partner during pregnancy were abused before their pregnancy.
In the task force’s evidence report, the researchers assessed 35 studies (n = 18,358) that analyzed screening interventions or tools for intimate partner violence.
The screening tools did not significantly reduce intimate partner violence or improve quality of life vs. no screening, but the researchers added that the tools may “reasonably” identify women experiencing intimate partner violence.
Several social services showed effectiveness. For example, one randomized clinical trial reported that behavioral counseling for risk factors that may lead to intimate partner violence, such as depression or smoking, resulted in significantly fewer recurrent episodes of violence (standardized mean difference = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.12).
Another study showed that multiple perinatal at-home visits significantly reduced intimate partner violence (standardized mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.59 to 0.08).
USPSTF said that most screening tools consist of a brief questionnaire.
The task force added that there is not enough evidence on screening for intimate partner violence in men and women no longer of reproductive age, though one report has suggested screening for violence in men for perpetration may be more effective than screening women.
Further research is also needed “on screening older and vulnerable adults for caregiver abuse,” USPSTF member Tumaini Coker, MD, MBA, professor of pediatrics at University of Washington and Seattle Children’s, said in the release. “Importantly, this recommendation is only for those without recognized signs or symptoms of abuse, so we encourage health care professionals to evaluate any individual who expresses concerns, reports symptoms or shows signs of abuse and then connect them to the care they need to stay safe.”
In a related editorial, Melissa A. Simon, MD, MBA, MPH, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, preventive medicine, and medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, called intimate partner violence and elder abuse “hidden epidemics” and said “the costs of inaction — measured in lives lost, health diminished and dignity denied — will only grow.”
“Defunding federal research agencies, eliminating independent review bodies, and eroding reproductive rights only deepen these gaps, leaving millions of U.S. residents vulnerable to preventable harm,” she wrote. “Clinicians, scientists and policymakers have an obligation to advocate not just for better science and health policies but for a society that prioritizes the safety and dignity of all its members, regardless of age or circumstance.”
