title: Self-administered questionnaire versus interview as a screening method for intimate partner violence in the prenatal setting in Japan: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social issue in Japan. In order to start effective interventions for abused women, the appropriate method of screening for IPV in healthcare settings needs clarifying. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a face-to-face interview with a self-administered questionnaire. We used the Violence Against Women Screen (VAWS), a Japanese screening instrument for intimate partner violence (IPV), for identifying pregnant women who have experienced abuse.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a randomised controlled trial to screen participants at three points in time in a prenatal clinic in Tokyo, Japan. There were 328 consenting women between 14 and 25 weeks of pregnancy who were consecutively selected and randomly assigned to either the interview or self-administered questionnaire group. Both groups completed the same screening instrument three times during their pregnancy. The primary outcome was the total number of women identified by each screening method and the secondary outcome was the effect of the screening as measured by the women's comfort level and their expressed need to consult with the nurse.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For all three screenings, the identification rate in the interview group was significantly lower than that for the self-administered questionnaire group (relative risk 0.66, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.97), even after controlling for smoking (adjusted odds ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.98). The two groups did not differ for secondary outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The self-administered questionnaire identified more IPV than the face-to-face interview when screening pregnant women in a Japanese prenatal clinic.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  UMIN-CTRC000000353.
authors.affiliation: St Luke's College of Nursing, 10-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0044, Japan. yaeko-kataoka@slcn.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yaeko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kataoka
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yaju
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eto
authors.forename: Shigeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007564:Japan; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods*; D057566:Self Report; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult