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Luci Manning 202/371-1999 |
Leading Experts to Discuss How Preventing Violence and Abuse Can Reduce Health Care Costs
How can reducing rates of violence and abuse reduce health care costs and improve health outcomes?
How do physical, sexual and psychological violence affect a person’s long-term health? How can reducing rates of violence and abuse reduce health care costs and improve health outcomes? Leading violence prevention and health organizations will host a Capitol Hill briefing to answer those and related questions on Thursday, April 16. Speakers will consider the role of violence prevention as health care reform advances.
Dating, domestic and sexual violence and child abuse are health care problems of epidemic proportions. Studies show that women who have experienced domestic violence are 80 percent more likely to have a stroke, 70 percent more likely to have heart disease, 60 percent more likely to have asthma and 70 percent more likely to drink heavily than women who have not experienced intimate partner violence. Children who experience childhood trauma, including witnessing incidents of domestic violence, are at a greater risk of having serious adult health problems including tobacco use, substance abuse, obesity, cancer, heart disease, depression and a higher risk for unintended pregnancy.
Experts at the briefing will explore the connections between domestic, dating and sexual violence and health care costs and consequences. It will be held:
Thursday, April 16, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2105
WITH
Phaedra Corso, Ph.D., University of Georgia
David Corwin, M.D., AMA National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse Chair
W. Rodney Hammond, Ph.D., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Connie Mitchell, California Medical Association and University of California, Davis
Kiersten Stewart, Family Violence Prevention Fund
The Academy on Violence and Abuse has just released a white paper, Hidden Costs in Health Care, The Economic Impact of Violence and Abuse, which provides an overview of the research in this area.
The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF), American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse, Academy on Violence and Abuse, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychiatric Association, and Nursing Network on Violence Against Women are co-sponsoring the briefing. Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Lois Capps (D-CA), John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-TN), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) and James Moran (D-VA) are honorary co-chairs. The briefing is open to media.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1,200 deaths and two million injuries to women from intimate partner violence each year. On average, three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends each day in this country. 15.5 million U.S. children live in families in which partner violence occurred at least once in the past year, and seven million children live in families in which severe partner violence occurred.
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The Family Violence Prevention Fund works to end violence against women and children around the world, because every person has the right to live free of violence. For more information, visit www.endabuse.org.
