J Interpers Violence. 2026 May 2:8862605261441201. doi: 10.1177/08862605261441201. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
Intimate partner violence (IPV) represents a public health crisis in the United States. Experiencing IPV is associated with various adverse health outcomes and injuries, including traumatic brain injury (TBI). Improving screening and care for individuals affected by concurrent IPV and traumatic brain injury (IPV-TBI) requires understanding its incidence, sociodemographics, risk factors, and clinical outcomes. Using standardized multicenter data from the US National Trauma Data Bank years 2018 to 2022, this study aimed to answer the following questions: (a) What is the incidence of IPV-TBI among female patients treated for TBI at US trauma facilities? (b) Are there sociodemographic and clinical differences between female IPV-TBI and female non-IPV-TBI patients? (c) What hospital outcomes (length of stay [LOS], emergency department discharge disposition, hospital discharge disposition) are associated with IPV-TBI, based on TBI severity. Statistical differences were examined using Welch’s t-test and analysis of variance, Pearson’s chi-squared test with post hoc Bonferroni-corrected z-tests, and multivariate logistic and linear regressions. Our findings indicate that most female trauma center patients with assault-related TBI experienced IPV (76.8%), often inflicted by male partners (97.9%). Compared to those with non-IPV TBI, IPV survivors who experienced TBI were younger (mean 37.9 ± 12.5 years vs. non-IPV: 48.0 ± 12.4; p < .001) and more commonly insured by Medicaid (47.0% vs. 36.5%, p < .001). IPV-TBI was associated with significantly higher odds of discharge to home in female patients (aOR = 1.31 [95% CI: 1.01, 1.69]), and IPV-TBI patients were likely to have shorter hospital LOS than those with TBI from non-IPV assault (4.3 ± 6.8 days vs. 5.9 ± 9.8; p < .001). Our findings underscore the critical importance of screening TBI patients for IPV, given that the social and medicolegal contexts surrounding their injury and recovery may be substantially different from TBI patients without IPV, and being discharged home may present significant safety risks.
PMID:42068181 | DOI:10.1177/08862605261441201
