Abstract
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common in patients attending health care services and is
associated with a range of health problems. The majority of IPV perpetrators are men and a substantial
minority of men are victims, yet health care professionals have little evidence or guidance on how to respond
to male patients who perpetrate or experience violence in their intimate relationships.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of interventions for male
perpetrators or victims of IPV in health settings. Online databases, reference lists, Google Scholar, and grey
literature were searched and inclusion/exclusion criteria applied. Narrative synthesis methods were used due
to the heterogeneity of study types and outcome measures.
Results: Fourteen studies describing 10 interventions met our inclusion criteria: 9 randomised controlled trials,
4 cohort studies and 1 case control study. Interventions were predominantly therapeutic in nature and many
were conducted in alcohol treatment settings.
Conclusion: Overall, the evidence for effectiveness of interventions in health care settings was weak, although
IPV interventions conducted concurrently with alcohol treatment show some promise. More work is urgently
needed in health care services to determine what interventions might be effective, and in what settings, to
improve the response to male perpetrators or victims of IPV.
associated with a range of health problems. The majority of IPV perpetrators are men and a substantial
minority of men are victims, yet health care professionals have little evidence or guidance on how to respond
to male patients who perpetrate or experience violence in their intimate relationships.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of interventions for male
perpetrators or victims of IPV in health settings. Online databases, reference lists, Google Scholar, and grey
literature were searched and inclusion/exclusion criteria applied. Narrative synthesis methods were used due
to the heterogeneity of study types and outcome measures.
Results: Fourteen studies describing 10 interventions met our inclusion criteria: 9 randomised controlled trials,
4 cohort studies and 1 case control study. Interventions were predominantly therapeutic in nature and many
were conducted in alcohol treatment settings.
Conclusion: Overall, the evidence for effectiveness of interventions in health care settings was weak, although
IPV interventions conducted concurrently with alcohol treatment show some promise. More work is urgently
needed in health care services to determine what interventions might be effective, and in what settings, to
improve the response to male perpetrators or victims of IPV.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Trauma, Violence, and Abuse |
| Early online date | 4 Dec 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 4 Dec 2017 |
Access to Document
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This is the author accepted manuscript (AAM). The final published version (version of record) is available online via Sage at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524838017744772. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher.