The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its screening recommendations for intimate partner violence and elder abuse June 24.
About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are expected to experience violence in their life, making intimate partner violence just as or more prevalent as many chronic diseases, according to a June 24 editorial. Among older adults, 1 in 10 over the age of 60 are expected to experience some form of elder abuse, including abuse, neglect and exploitation.
The updated recommendations are similar to the prior version, however they add a few important details.
1. The task force recommends clinicians screen for IPV in women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. Providing or referring those who screen positive to multicomponent interventions was found to have a moderate net benefit.
2. The task force further expanded elder abuse designations to include caregiver abuse and neglect. However, the USPSTF found there are no validated screening tools or effective interventions for elder abuse.
3. The impacts of abuse cannot be ignored by health systems, said Melissa Simon, MD, author of the JAMA editorial. A leading cause of death among pregnant women is homicide, she added. Survivors of IPV are estimated to have a lifetime economic burden of $103,767 per victim due to medical costs, lost productivity and legal expenses. Older adults who experience abuse have a 300% higher mortality rate, and financial exploitation drains $2.6 billion annually from seniors, according to Dr. Simon.
“The IPV and elder abuse dual epidemics deserve more attention,” said Dr. Simon. “IPV and elder abuse are public health emergencies, with survivors also facing profound consequences. … This stagnation in the development of more evidence-based interventions for IPV and elder abuse is troubling, especially in the setting of the current reductions in federal support for public health, health care delivery, and research. … The stagnation in IPV and elder abuse research is not a failure of knowledge but a failure of imagination, investment, and will.”
