" Boiling Water but There's No Pop-Off Valve": Health Care Provider Perceptions of the Effects of COVID-19 on Intimate Partner Violence

Ellen Hendrix; Subasri Narasimhan; Carrie E Ripkey; Amy Zeidan; Randi N Smith; Dabney P Evans

doi:10.1177/10778012231162043

" Boiling Water but There's No Pop-Off Valve": Health Care Provider Perceptions of the Effects of COVID-19 on Intimate Partner Violence

Violence Against Women. 2023 Mar 21:10778012231162043. doi: 10.1177/10778012231162043. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ellen Hendrix¹, Subasri Narasimhan^{1

2}, Carrie E Ripkey¹, Amy Zeidan³, Randi N Smith^{4

5}, Dabney P Evans^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
² The Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE), Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
³ Department of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁴ Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
⁵ Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Abstract

This study sought to understand the effects of COVID-19, including movement-related restrictions such as shelter-in-place, quarantine, and isolation orders, on intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspective of health care providers (HCPs) working at a public hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. From November 2020 to May 2021, we conducted 12 interviews. Three themes emerged: (1) HCPs perceived that COVID-19 movement-related restrictions likely exacerbated IPV; (2) HCPs encountered many practice-oriented and community barriers in IPV care provision during COVID-19; and (3) HCPs suggested process and partnership improvements for IPV response. These findings can inform future pandemic preparedness including improved communication, improved IPV screening and follow-up, and strengthened hospital-community partnerships.

Keywords: COVID-19; emergency medicine; intimate partner violence; movement restrictions; violence prevention.