Intimate Partner Violence Associated With Poor Health Outcomes in U.S. South Asian Women

To assess the associations between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) victimization and health outcomes of South Asian women in Greater Boston. To explore the nature of the health experiences of victimized women in this population. Cross-sectional surveys with a community-based sample of women in relationships with males (n = 208) assessed demographics, IPV history, and health. In-depth interviews were conducted with a separate sample of women with a history of IPV (n = 23). Quantitative data were assessed by logistic regression, qualitative data by a grounded theory approach. Twenty-one percent of the quantitative sample reported IPV in the current relationship. Abused women were significantly more likely than those with no history of IPV in their current relationship to report poor physical health (95% CI = 1.3–12.0), depression (95% CI = 1.8–9.3), anxiety (95% CI = 1.3–6.4), and suicidal ideation (95% CI = 1.9–25.1). Qualitative subjects described how victimization resulted in injury and chronic health concerns and how IPV-induced depression and anxiety affected their sleep, appetite, energy, and wellbeing. Experiences of IPV are related to increased poor health among South Asian women. This elevated risk demands intervention. Healthcare providers should be trained to screen and refer South Asian patients for partner violence. This work was presented as a poster at the Third International Conference on Urban Health, Boston, MA, October 2004. It was awarded Honorable Mention in the Student Abstract Contest (Masters Level). Conflict of Interest: Anita Raj is a volunteer with and advisor to Saheli, the local South Asian CBO of volunteers providing cultural programs in the South Asian community and helping women in crisis. She has provided domestic violence advocacy and community education in the local South Asian community, and she has served as a South Asian Advisor to Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATFADV), the local Asian domestic violence program in Boston. Both Saheli and ATFADV assisted with recruitment for the current study. Saheli events that were not domestic violence-specific served as venues for recruitment for the cross-sectional study. Saheli and ATFADV cases of domestic violence were referred to the qualitative study.