title: Recognizing intimate partner violence in primary care: Western Cape, South Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Interpersonal violence in South Africa is the second highest contributor to the burden of disease after HIV/AIDS and 62% is estimated to be from intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed to evaluate how women experiencing IPV present in primary care, how often IPV is recognized by health care practitioners and what other diagnoses are made.
  
  
  METHODS
  At two urban and three rural community health centres, health practitioners were trained to screen all women for IPV over a period of up to 8 weeks. Medical records of 114 thus identified women were then examined and their reasons for encounter (RFE) and diagnoses over the previous 2-years were coded using the International Classification of Primary Care. Three focus group interviews were held with the practitioners and interviews with the facility managers to explore their experience of screening.
  
  
  RESULTS
  IPV was previously recognized in 11 women (9.6%). Women presented with a variety of RFE that should raise the index of suspicion for IPV- headache, request for psychiatric medication, sleep disturbance, tiredness, assault, feeling anxious and depressed. Depression was the commonest diagnosis. Interviews identified key issues that prevented health practitioners from screening.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that recognition of women with IPV is very low in South African primary care and adds useful new information on how women present to ambulatory health services. These findings offer key cues that can be used to improve selective case finding for IPV in resource-poor settings. Universal screening was not supported by this study.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa. kjoy@sun.ac.za
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Joyner
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mash
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data