Clinical trial NCT00122395: Trial Regarding the Acceptability of Audiotape Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Screening
Official title: A Randomized Clinical Trial Regarding the Acceptability of an Audiotape Questionnaire for Intimate Partner Violence Screening in a Pediatric ED
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Domestic Violence
Keywords: Domestic violence
Screening
Emergency department
Lead sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2005-07-22
Enrollment: 500
Sex: FEMALE
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to compare the safety, acceptability and ease of the administration of two screening methods, a pen and paper questionnaire and an audiotape with headsets, for screening for intimate partner violence in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

Detailed description: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant health problem, affecting 2 - 4 million women each year. Over half of the homes in which women are abused contain children, with 3.3 - 10 million children witnessing IPV each year. In 1998, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued guidelines stating that "identifying and intervening on behalf of battered women may be one of the most effective means of preventing child abuse," and recommending that pediatricians perform routine IPV screening. Because of the substantial number of families seen in the emergency department (ED), this setting could provide an important site in which to implement universal screening. Exactly how to implement screening in this busy environment is unclear. One possible approach involves the use of an audiotape with a headset with a prerecorded screening questionnaire that prompts the respondent to circle "yes" or "no" answers on an otherwise blank sheet of paper. This method of screening has the potential benefits of:

* Providing a more private method of screening;
* Improving screening of women who cannot read well;
* Enhancing the rate of screening by removing the burden of screening from providers.

Comparison: Female caregivers in a pediatric ED will be randomized to answering domestic violence (DV) screening questions either via pen and paper or via audiotape. After answering these screening questions, all women will be asked standardized questions about the acceptability, safety and ease of use of the method to which they are randomized.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Older than 18 or an emancipated minor

Exclusion Criteria:

* Child undergoing acute resuscitation
* Other adults in the room

Primary outcomes:
measure: Acceptability, perceived safety and ease of administration of each survey method
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Disclosure of domestic violence
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Emergency Department
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
name: Megan H Bair-Merritt
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
name: Joel A Fein
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Bair-Merritt MH, Feudtner C, Mollen CJ, Winters S, Blackstone M, Fein JA. Screening for intimate partner violence using an audiotape questionnaire: a randomized clinical trial in a pediatric emergency department. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006 Mar;160(3):311-6. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.160.3.311.