title: Is Spanish language a barrier to domestic violence assessment?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to premenopausal women and fatal in over 1000 women annually, but few healthcare providers ask about it, citing numerous barriers, including language. This study tested the hypothesis that language does, in fact, pose a barrier to screening and that Spanish-speaking women report lower lifetime screening rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was part of an ongoing, multiclinic site, cervical cancer prevention trial in which patients completed a baseline survey, available in both Spanish and English, with the question: "Has a doctor or other healthcare provider ever asked you about domestic violence?" as well as other questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 2591 women, 1017 (39%) chose to complete the survey in Spanish and 1574 (61%) in English. Within the entire group, 1137 (44%) reported having been asked about domestic violence. Among those completing the Spanish survey, this rate was 47% (lifetime assessment), and among English-language respondents, it was surprisingly lower at 42% (p=0.011). In multivariate analyses, however, this language effect was reduced to nonsignificance. Instead, age (particularly the 28-34-year quartile), having been pregnant, clinic site, and type of medical visit (postpartum) were positively associated with lifetime assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found a Spanish language preference is not a barrier to domestic violence assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. jatoi.aminah@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Aminah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jatoi
authors.forename: Carmen Radecki
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Breitkopf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003144:Communication Barriers; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D016387:Women's Health; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D055815:Young Adult