Police reports on domestic incidents involving intimate partners: injuries and medical help-seeking.
This study aims to expand knowledge of partner abuse injury and help-seeking through a new source of data. We reviewed police reports during corresponding periods in 1996 and 1997 (n = 476). Complainants were injured in 17.4% of all incidents; 90% of those injured were women. Hispanics were more likely to be injured than non-Hispanics (OR = 2.06; 95% CI = 1.0, 4.25). The likelihood of injury decreased with each year of increasing age (OR = 0.95; CI = 0.91, 0.99). Only 20.5% of those injured consented to medical care. Police reports provide information on partner abuse injury that supplements hospital surveillance and household surveys.
Duncan
M M
MM
Health Policy and Administration at the Yale University School of Medicine, USA. mmduncan@mail.computer.net
Stayton
C D
CD
Hall
C B
CB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004282:Documentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016495:Police / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*