Family physicians see victims of violence, abuse and neglect regularly as they care for individuals of all ages, sexual orientations, socioeconomic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Early identification of abuse is essential to eliminating violence and subsequent health problems in women's lives. Universal screening procedure may be the most effective way to identify battered women. Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the Filipino HITS tool in screening patients who have experienced physical emotional/psychological intimate partner violence in a primary care setting. Method: This was cross-sectional study with purposive non-probability sampling conducted at the Family Medicine Clinic of the Outpatient Department of the Philippine General Hospital from September 1 to 16, 2005. Results: A total of ninety-two patients were included in the study. The mean age of the study participants was 45 years old. Most of the women screened were housewives (39.1%); most their partners were unemployed (33.7%). Using the Filipino HITS screening tool, 8 out of 92 (8.7%) women were screened to be positive for intimate partner violence while using the modified Conflicts Tactics Scale, 45 out of 92 (48.9%) women were identified to have experienced physical and emotional intimate partner violence within the past year. There is no significant difference between the employment status, average monthly incomes, religion and areas of residence of women who have experienced intimate partner violence and those who have not. Conclusion: The Filipino HITS scale is a poor screening tool due to its low sensitivity however its high specificity makes it a good diagnostic tool. Assessment of comfort levels of both patients and physicians in using the screening tools for domestic violence is recommended. The inclusion of other items which can assess other common forms of abuse such as economic abuse is also recommended.
VIOLENCE ; PRIMARY HEALTH CARE