Background: Primary care providers have an important role in identifying survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) and providing safety options. Routine screening rates by providers have been consistently low, indicating a need to better understand providers’ practices to ensure the translation of policy into clinical practice. Aim: This systematic review examines common themes regarding provider screening practices and influencing factors on these practices. Method: A literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The search focused on research articles which met the following criteria: (1) health-care providers as participants, (2) provider reports on screening and counseling practices for IPV, and (3) were in English or Spanish. Results: A total of 35 studies were included in the review. Across studies, providers commonly acknowledged the importance of IPV screening yet often used only selective screening. Influencing factors on clinic, provider, and patient levels shaped the process and outcomes of provider screening practices. Overall, a great deal of variability exists in regard to provider screening practices. This variability may be due to a lack of clear system-level guidance for these practices and a lack of research regarding best practices. Conclusions: These findings suggest the necessity of more facilitative, clearly defined, and perhaps mandatory strategies to fulfill policy requirements. Future research directions are outlined to assist with these goals.

Introduction: As anti-immigrant hostility toward Latino populations grows, more fervent attention is needed to consider strength-based approaches to attenuate the effects of perceived discrimination. This systematic review synthesizes the evidence about the effects of racial/ethnic discrimination on mental, physical, and health behaviors of Latinos and examines the coping mechanisms and cultural factors that attenuate the negative association between discrimination and health among adult Latinos living in the United States. Method: The search criteria included articles that (a) examined ethnic/racial discrimination in relationship to a health outcome, (b) had study samples composed of least 25% Latino adults, and (c) were written in English. Results: A total of 33 studies were included in the review. Our findings demonstrated the negative relationship between perceived discrimination, mental health, and health behaviors. The evidence for the relationship between perceived discrimination and physical health was less robust. For mental health, greater feeling of ethnic pride and belonging attenuated the negative relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the potential for building on ethnic identity for addressing mental health and perceived discrimination. Future research directions are outlined to address identified gaps.

The objective of this study was to examine differences in change over time in health and safety outcomes among female college students randomized to myPlan, a tailored safety planning app, or usual web-based safety planning resources. Three hundred forty-six women (175 intervention, 171 control) from 41 colleges/universities in Oregon and Maryland completed surveys at baseline, 6- and 12-months from July 2015 to October 2017. Generalized estimating equations were used to test group differences across time. Both groups improved on four measure of intimate partner violence (IPV; Composite Abuse Scale [CAS], TBI-related IPV, digital abuse, reproductive coercion [RC]) and depression. Reduction in RC and improvement in suicide risk were significantly greater in the myPlan group relative to controls (p = .019 and p = .46, respectively). Increases in the percent of safety behaviors tried that were helpful significantly reduced CAS scores, indicating a reduction in IPV over time in the myPlan group compared to controls (p = .006). Findings support the feasibility and importance of technology-based IPV safety planning for college women. myPlan achieved a number of its objectives related to safety planning and decision-making, the use of helpful safety behaviors, mental health, and reductions in some forms of IPV.

Latina women, especially those who are immigrants, have an increased vulnerability to intimate partner violence, yet they also have a low rate of using formal services (i.e. health care and legal services). Existing research focused on Latina women’s help seeking for intimate partner violence has identified multiple factors, such as the presence of children, cultural values, and type of victimization, that influence women’s formal help seeking. Immigrant Latina women in particular commonly report many barriers to formal services; however, heterogeneity and nuanced patterns of help seeking exist across Latina survivors. While research has focused mainly on understanding factors that are barriers to help seeking by Latina women, there is an overwhelming dearth of research about interventions and factors that facilitate effective help-seeking experiences for Latina IPV survivors. In an effort to improve Latina IPV survivors’ access to services, we examine the gaps in research across dimensions of access to care (i.e. availability, affordability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability of services). Research within each of these facets of access to services for Latina survivors is lacking. This brief commentary illustrates the sparse data to inform evidence based interventions for Latina IPV survivors and is a call for research in order to determine best practices and to move the knowledge base from the vast descriptive base to evidence-based, culturally appropriate and acceptable interventions.

Despite extensive descriptive work on intimate partner violence (IPV) among Latina and Caribbean immigrant women (LCIW), culturally appropriate interventions for primary and secondary prevention of IPV for this population remain lacking. Developing culturally appropriate and effective prevention interventions for abused LCIW requires a more nuanced understanding regarding the dynamics of cultural values, immigration status, and manifestations of IPV. The purposes of this study were to examine LCIW’s experiences of domestic violence, using a gender stereotype framework, and to describe how ascribing to gender stereotypes perpetuates and normalizes experiences of abuse. Thirty semistructured individual interviews were conducted with LCIW (a) who were at least 18 years old and (b) who had experienced abuse from an intimate partner within the last 2 years. Overall, women described themselves as communal—being caretakers, submissive, and dependent on men. From their perspective, they described their male abusers as being controlling, angry, and violent. The risk for experiencing violence increased when women defied their prescriptive gender roles by seeking employment and by developing their social networks and activities. Substance abuse and alcohol misuse also compounded their partners’ abusive behaviors. Despite some women experiencing more abuse after migration to the United States, coming to the United States exposed them to other opportunities and ways of being a woman, which facilitated an awareness about their abuse and was a motivator for help-seeking and ending abuse. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing traditional gender stereotypes for secondary prevention of IPV.

The increasing burden of chronic illness highlights the importance of self-care and shifts from hierarchical and patriarchal models to partnerships. Primary care providers (PCPs) play an important role in supporting patients in self-management, enabling activation and supporting chronic care. We explored the extent to which PCPs’ beliefs about the importance of the patients’ role relate to the frequency in which they report engaging in collaborative and partnership-building behaviors with patients. PCPs’ beliefs were measured using the Clinician Support for Patient Activation Measure (CS-PAM). We also assessed whether PCPs’ CS-PAM scores were positively associated with changes in their patients’ Patient Activation Measure (PAM) scores. Participants included 181 PCPs from a single accountable care organization in Minnesota who completed an online survey. We conducted bivariate analyses and multivariate regression models to examine relationships between CS-PAM and PCP self-management support behaviors and changes in level of patient activation. PCPs with high CS-PAM scores were much more likely to engage in supportive self-management and patient behavior change approaches, such as involving the patient in agenda-setting, problem-solving, and collaboratively setting behavioral goals, than were PCPs with low CS-PAM scores. More positive PCPs’ belief in the patients’ role in self-management was positively correlated with improvements in their patients’ level of patient activation. More positive PCP beliefs about the patients’ role in self-management was strongly related to PCP behaviors geared towards increasing patient activation.