title: Prevalence of intimate partner violence among women seeking termination of pregnancy compared to women seeking contraceptive counseling.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women seeking termination of pregnancy (TOP) in comparison to women seeking contraceptive counseling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Family planning unit, Uppsala University Hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women seeking TOP (n = 635) and women seeking contraceptive counseling (n = 591) answered a self-administered questionnaire regarding experience of IPV. In addition, the women were interviewed by specially trained staff.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparisons were made between the two groups and between those who had previously undergone TOP and those who had never done so with experience of IPV as the main outcome measure. Multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for age, education and occupation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 29% of women seeking TOP and 22% of women seeking contraceptive counseling reported experience of violence. Women seeking TOP were more likely to report physical violence [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2-2.1] and experience of violence during the past year (aOR = 2.3, 95% Cl 1.1-4.8). Women who had ever undergone TOP were also more likely to report IPV compared with women with no history of TOP (aOR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.3). Among women with repeated TOP, 51% reported experience of IPV.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women seeking TOP reported to a greater extent experience of IPV. However, women seeking contraceptive counseling also had a high prevalence of violent experiences. These results stress the importance of caregivers approaching both groups of women with questions about IPV to identify exposed women and offer them help.
authors.affiliation: Department for Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mariella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Öberg
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stenson
authors.forename: Alkistis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skalkidou
authors.forename: Gun
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heimer
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003376:Counseling; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Intimate partner violence; contraceptive counseling; family planning; interpersonal; repeated termination of pregnancy; termination of pregnancy; violence