NCJ Number
204514
Journal
Maternal and Child Health Journal Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 149-154
Editor(s)
Milton Kotelchuck Ph.D.
Date Published
June 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This commentary summarizes the history of the nexus of public health, health care, and violence against women in the United States and future directions for research, health care practice, and policy advancing the understanding of the relationship between violence and reproductive health.
Abstract
Despite the recognition that violence may be associated with serious consequences for women’s reproductive health, the understanding of the relationship between the two remains limited. It is known that violence against women is associated with almost every woman’s reproductive health problem. Health care providers’ encounters with women represent an opportune time for women to be assessed for violence and obtain the interventions they need. Five guiding principles and recommendations from the 1999 National Conference on Violence and Reproductive Health: Science, Prevention and Action offer an important first step in crafting a national agenda to address violence and reproductive health and consist of: (1) including women’s perspectives in future research, practice, and policy; (2) make women’s safety of paramount concern in future research, health care practice, and policy; (3) translate research findings into effective interventions; (4) complement quantitative data collection with qualitative methods; and (5) form collaborative partnerships. This paper presents some considerations for future directions that will advance the understanding of the complex relationship. It summarizes the history of the nexus of public health, health care, and violence against women in this country and presents suggestions for future directions in research, public health practice, and policy regarding violence against women and reproductive health.