Intimate partner violence in orthopaedic trauma patients

A team of researchers at the University of Dundee led by Mr Arpit Jariwala has collaborated with McMaster University, Ontario on the first study worldwide to investigate the rate of domestic partner violence in both male and female patients in orthopaedics. This cross-sectional, multi-centre study was conducted in orthopaedic fracture clinics across Scotland using validated participant self-reported questionnaires. 

Mrs Samantha Downie, the Principal Investigator for the study, found that one in five of all respondents (20%), male and female, had experienced domestic partner violence within their lifetimes. One in eight (12%) had experienced abuse within the past 12 months. Musculoskeletal injuries are common in domestic partner abuse and the orthopaedic fracture clinic is an ideal place to identify and help at-risk people. This study emphasises how common domestic partner violence is and will help NHS Tayside train staff to identify and care for individuals at risk of abuse.

The authors would like to thank the members of the intimate partner violence advisory group: Jenna Breckenridge, Fiona Duncan, and Cheryl Sutherland Stewart. We would particularly like to thank the 336 anonymous participants who participated in this study, without which this important and ground-breaking research could never have been completed.

Research Title: Intimate partner violence (IPV) in male and female orthopaedic trauma patients: a multicentre, cross-sectional prevalence study

Research Team: Samantha Downie, Iuliana Kanya, Kim Madden, Mohit Bhandari, Arpit C Jariwala