Improving Intimate Partner Violence Screening in Primary Care

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global health problem affecting millions of individuals. The purpose of this DNP project is to compare current IPV practices and recommend use of an IPV screening tool into practice along with staff education to improve screening practices in primary care. The overall goal is to increase screening of IPV in primary care, which rates are currently very low throughout the nation.
To achieve this goal a quality improvement project was conducted with participants at a local clinic in Fort Pierce. The staff and providers received a PowerPoint and verbal presentation, which focused on the ability to identify IPV. They received a pre-intervention survey and a post intervention survey at the completion of the presentation. They were also given information on referrals and resources for patients identified with IPV. 54% of providers responded that they do not currently screen for IPV. Participants showed that they would in the future use a screening tool in practice. They also showed a significant change in perceptions after the intervention. Providers also felt that they do have time to screen for IPV in the future and thus resulting in practice change.