Health e-News

AUGUST 2005

In this issue...

News

Announcements

NEWS

Teens who Experience Dating Violence at Greater Risk for STDs

Nearly one in three sexually active adolescent girls (31.5 percent) report experiencing physical or sexual violence from a dating partner, and there is a “significant” association between being a victim of dating violence and being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or HIV. These are among the findings from a study published in the August 2005 issue of Pediatrics. The study entitled Dating Violence and Sexually Transmitted Disease/HIV Testing and Diagnosis Among Adolescent Females looks at more than 1,600 sexually active 9th to 12th grade female students who filled out Youth Risk Behavior Surveys in Massachusetts in 1999 and 2001.

Dating violence victims are more likely to be tested for and diagnosed with an STD or HIV than girls who do not experience dating violence, even after accounting for other sexual risk behaviors. In fact, one in 12 dating violence victims reports a sexually transmitted disease, compared to one in 30 girls who do not experience dating violence. Girls who experience dating violence are three times more likely to be tested for an STD and HIV, and 2.6 times more likely to report an STD diagnosis, than girls who do not experience dating violence.

“We are seeing a staggering proportion of teenage girls experiencing physical or sexual violence from dating partners,” Michele R. Decker, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health and one of the study’s authors, told Reuters. “Violence against women has been linked with numerous negative health outcomes, and I think through this study we are seeing further evidence of the tremendous health consequences of this violence.”

Authors recommend further research, and the development of community-based programs that address dating violence and STD/HIV risk. They encourage clinic staff to discuss relationship dynamics with patients and screen them for dating violence, noting that discussions about barriers to using condoms and other contraceptives may prompt patients to disclose dating violence. Medical professionals should make information about dating violence support services available to all patients, regardless of whether they admit to being abused, they say.

Pediatrics is the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition to Decker, the study’s authors are Jay G. Silverman, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health and Anita Raj, PhD, of the Boston University School of Public Health.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Inviting Brief Reports for Fall 2005 Issue of FVPF's Online Journal

The Family Violence Prevention Fund will release the next issue of its online journal Family Violence Prevention and Health Practice in Fall 2005. The theme of the issue is Technology and Intimate Partner Violence.

The FVPF invites you to submit brief reports on the use of technology in imparting domestic violence education to health care providers, medical and professional students as well as patients (especially Teens). We also invite short articles highlighting innovative technological tools that can help address domestic violence in the healthcare setting.

Please submit brief reports and short articles to the online journal editorial staff via email: healthe-journal@endabuse.org. Please limit submissions to 1500 words.

Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell named Institute of Medicine Scholar-In-Residence

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHU SON) professor Jacquelyn C. Campbell, PhD RN FAAN, has been named the American Academy of Nursing (AAN)/Institute of Medicine (IOM)/American Nurse’s Foundation (ANF) Scholar-in-Residence. Dr. Campbell, an IOM member who serves as the Anna D. Wolf Chair at JHU SON, is internationally recognized for her program of research that has documented the physical and mental health effects of domestic violence, including abuse during pregnancy, intimate partner homicide, dating violence, and forced sex in intimate relationships. Dr. Campbell is also the Vice Chair of the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s Board of Directors.

During her year in residence as an IOM Scholar, Dr. Campbell will focus on research and policy initiatives to increase public understanding of and attention to how violence against women is significantly increasing the risk of women throughout the U.S. and the world of both contracting and dying from HIV/AIDS. Dr. Campbell noted, “This important intersection of violence against women and the risk of HIV/AIDS is key to addressing – and ultimately stemming – a growing threat to the lives of women everywhere.”

Dr. Campbell added that the IOM Scholar-In-Residence program – a year-long position within the IOM at the National Academies of Science in Washington, DC – offers, “an incredible opportunity to take my 20 year program of nursing research on domestic violence at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing to another level of policy application. I will be able to synchronize the influence of the IOM with my commitment to women’s health, the AAN strategic concern for health disparities, and ANF support of nursing research to influence research and policy directions around this particular issue and other nursing research priorities.”

Throughout her career, Dr. Campbell has consulted on violence against women for the World Health Organization, collaborated with the Medical Research Council of South Africa and other international consultations through JHU SON global initiatives, and worked with both governmental and nongovernmental agencies, including NIH, the Department of Justice (NIJ and the Office of Violence Against Women), U.S. AID, the Department of Defense, and the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Dr. Campbell believes these experiences will bring a wealth of potential collaborators to her efforts while at the IOM.

During her tenure as a Scholar in Residence, Campbell will transition from her position as SON Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, but will continue to mentor her doctoral students and serve as a co-investigator on research projects with colleagues from JHU nursing, medicine, and public health, and with those in other disciplines and organizations. She plans to use her opportunity with the IOM to facilitate these students’ and investigators’ progress in policy formation activities and to encourage policy agencies to take advantage of their developing expertise.

October 12th is Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day

Join health care professionals and domestic violence advocates by taking part in the Family Violence Prevention Fund's Seventh Annual Health Cares About Domestic Violence (HCADV) Day. A free organizing packet is available online at www.endabuse.org/hcadvd.

The HCADV Day packet provides participants with national consensus guidelines on how to institute routine assessment for domestic violence, simple steps health care providers can take to improve their response to domestic violence, patient and provider educational materials and organizing ideas for October 12th activities. To learn more about this event, please visit the web site or call the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence to request a free copy of the organizing packet at (800) 595-4889.

Women’s Healthcare Competencies for Medical Students

The Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Women's Healthcare Education Office (WHEO) and its interdisciplinary colleagues have developed women's health competencies for medical student education. The competencies have been developed to address the need for models of well-designed interdisciplinary curricula that focus on the differences of sex and gender across the basic, clinical and social sciences that provide the foundations of good medicine. The APGO WHEO’s goal is to optimize women's health care by teaching medical students how to recognize and address sex and gender-based differences as they relate to the health of individuals and of populations.

The learning objectives found in this resource are designed to enable faculty at the nation's medical schools to address conditions that are more common or present differently in women in a comprehensive and integrated fashion. The deliberate attention paid to cultural and socioeconomic concerns throughout the document transcends traditional medical education recognizing that variables, including age, culture, ethnicity, and sexual orientation also impact health and illness in critical ways.

This resource focuses on medical student education but assists at all levels of professional education. As this project moves forward, APGO remains committed to the idea that identifying and addressing gender inequalities throughout medical school curricula today, will substantively improve women's health in the future tomorrow. At baseline, APGO's learning objectives will help medical school faculties enhance teaching in traditional biomedical content areas such as anatomy and physiology. This, however, is only the beginning. Alongside such materials, educators will find tools that will help them teach and assess patient-clinician communication, physical exam and counseling skills.

Thus, this resource brings to medical educators contemporary approaches in education with up to date knowledge of clinical practice and science. Teaching and assessing competency in women's health is, therefore, a critical step for changing the patterns of care practiced by tomorrow's physicians.

For more information, please contact Roberta B. Rusch, MPH at (703) 815-3111; (410) 451-9560 or email rrusch@apgo.org or Click Here.

New Online Resource Helps Parents, Caregivers Talk to Kids About Violence

What do you say to a 16-year-old who is being bullied and controlled by her boyfriend? Will violent video games affect your child’s behavior? How do you break a pattern of abuse that has affected your family for generations? A powerful new publication from the Family Violence Prevention Fund, with support from the Avon Foundation and the Wireless Foundation, answers those and other questions.

CONNECT: A Mini-Magazine for Parents gives parents and caregivers practical advice on how to talk to kids about respecting women and girls and cultivating healthy relationships. It offers regular features including a Parent2Parent advice column, articles on hot topics such as violent video games, questions-and-answers with authors and experts, and interviews with parents, teens and women who grew up in violent homes.

The launch issue’s web site has supplements including a quiz, advice on taking advantage of teachable moments, and more. Visitors to the site are encouraged to submit questions.

Avon Products, Inc. began distributing CONNECT to its nearly 500,000 U.S. independent Sales Representatives in May, and will continue to circulate the piece throughout the summer.

The spring/summer issue of CONNECT is the first in a series that will provide a compendium of advice to help parents teach children that violence against women is wrong. Both the Wireless Foundation and the Avon Foundation will produce additional issues. Together, they will give parents a wealth of advice on how to broach this difficult subject with children.

“Talking to children about violence against women is daunting for many parents,” said Family Violence Prevention Fund President Esta Soler. “Until now, there has been little help and support for those who want to teach their sons to reject abuse and help their daughters avoid becoming victims of dating, domestic or sexual violence. The Avon Foundation and the Wireless Foundation have done a tremendous service by supporting production of these mini-magazines. CONNECT will help millions of parents talk to their kids about violence.”

“We are proud to partner with the Family Violence Prevention Fund and the Wireless Foundation in this work,” said Avon Foundation President Kathleen Walas. “The Avon Foundation has for 50 years been committed to empowering women, and through our new Speak Out Against Domestic Violence initiative our goal is to help break the cycle of domestic violence. CONNECT is one of the first projects of our Speak Out program, and it is a symbol of our hope that the next generation can avoid the violence.”

“The Wireless Foundation has a deep commitment to raising awareness about domestic violence and helping victims,” said Wireless Foundation Executive Director David S. Diggs. “We have recycled millions of wireless phones and used the proceeds to support leading domestic violence agencies, and refurbished countless others that are lifelines for victims of abuse facing emergencies. Supporting the CONNECT mini-magazine is one more way the wireless industry is helping parents and kids communicate – in this case about the importance of preventing domestic violence before it even begins.”

CONNECT is available online in English and Spanish at www.connect-endabuse.org and www.avonfoundation.org.

10th International Conference on Family Violence

The 10th International Conference on Family Violence will be held on September 16-21, 2005 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, CA.

The five-day multidisciplinary conference will bring together over 1,500 people and agencies to make a significant positive impact on creating violence and abuse-free homes, communities and societies. The conference is comprised of multiple events and affiliated trainings. Continuing education credits are available in most fields.

To register, Click Here. For more information, call 858-623-2777, x427 or email fvsai@alliant.edu.

Wellesley Centers for Women Seeks Research Scientist

The Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College is seeking a full-time doctoral-level researcher with expertise in gender-based violence. The person in this position will build on prior work at the Wellesley Centers for Women on gender violence both nationally and internationally and will work with other researchers at the Centers to secure additional research funding and organize activities related to the topics studied.

This is a full time, 12-month position. The College will begin reading letters of nomination and applications accompanied by a curriculum vitae beginning September 2005. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Cover letters, CV’s and supporting materials should be sent to: Kathryn Scott, Administrative Director, Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley, MA 02481 or email kscott@wellesley.edu.

For a full description of the position, Click Here.

Inviting Applications for 2006 Physician Advocacy Fellowship

The Center on Medicine as a Profession at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons invites applications for the 2006 Physician Advocacy Fellowship. The fellowship provides support to doctors who want to develop their policy and advocacy skills by partnering with an advocacy organization on a project that they design jointly.

Fellows will design and implement an advocacy project to improve health and service delivery; address social issues such as racism, violence, healthcare access and environmental hazards which adversely affect health and health care delivery; and develop or strengthen their advocacy skills through collaboration with a partner advocacy organization.

The fellowship supports 50% of a fellow’s time for 12 to 24 months, and is open to physicians nationwide. For additional information, including a list of past fellows, and application information Click Here. The deadline for preliminary proposals for the fellowship is October 7, 2005.

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Health e-News is a monthly electronic news digest focusing on health care and domestic violence policy, research, prevention and advocacy. Health e-News is available in both text and html formats. To subscribe Click Here.

We encourage you to use Health e-News to share news, views, and experiences concerning your projects and activities on addressing domestic violence as a health care issue. To post an announcement or ask a question, send an e-mail to HealthE-News@endabuse.org. The digest is monitored by Vibhuti Mehra, Senior Program Assistant with the Family Violence Prevention Fund.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to end domestic violence!

Be sure to visit our website http://endabuse.org/health to learn more about our programs, products, and campaigns!

This publication is funded in part by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau.