Battered and Brain Injured: Traumatic Brain Injury Among Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence—A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent, range, and nature of literature targeting health-care professionals on the prevalence and outcome of intimate partner violence (IPV)-related traumatic brain injury (TBI). The purpose is to gain an understanding of prevalence, investigate screening tool use, generate IPV/TBI-specific support recommendations, and identify suggestions for future research. Method: The review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s five stages for conducting a scoping review. A comprehensive search of nine databases revealed 1,739 articles. In total, 42 published research papers that focused specifically on TBI secondary to IPV were included in the study. Synthesis: The literature reports inconsistencies in prevalence rates from IPV-related TBI. There are no current standardized screening practices in use, though the literature calls for a specialized tool. Frontline professionals would benefit from education on signs and symptoms of IPV-related TBI. Empirical studies are needed to generate reliable data on prevalence, experience, and needs of brain-injured survivors of TBI. Conclusions: Findings from this study demonstrate the need for the development of an IPV-sensitive screening tool, more accurate data on prevalence, an interprofessional approach to care, and raised awareness and education on the diffuse symptoms of IPV-related TBI.

Characterizing traumatic brain injury and its association with homelessness in a community-based sample of precariously housed adults and youth

“…34 Females had a significantly higher odds of sustaining TBI through physical abuse, an important and actionable finding that parallels recent studies that have evaluated TBI in individuals who are survivors of intimate partner violence. 35 Our findings also highlight notable associations between the severity and timing of TBI with housing status. First, moderate or severe TBI was closely related to the initial loss of stable housing, which suggests that a considerable proportion of newly homeless and precariously housed individuals may be acutely experiencing sequelae related to TBI.…”

Battered and Brain Injured: Assessing Knowledge of Traumatic Brain Injury Among Intimate Partner Violence Service Providers

“…2 Whereas there are distinct bodies of literature examining both IPV and TBI, only a few studies directly address the correlation between them; a scoping review conducted by the authors (in press) identified 20 English language original research studies expressly considering the intersection. 15 Existing studies have identified a relationship between IPV/TBI and a range of biopsychosocial challenges faced by survivors, 3,7,16–18 and explored various health care contexts, 19–23 as well as survivor categories such as veterans, 24 ethnic groups, 25 and marginalized women. 26 Yet, although the identified studies focused on prevalence rates, identification and screening, and recommendations for health care professionals, none of them address the state of TBI knowledge among frontline workers, an area highlighted as being of key importance.…”

Emotional Regulation Following Acquired Brain Injury: Associations With Executive Functioning in Daily Life and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression

“…The ABI-participants in the latter study ( 8 ) were, however, slightly younger and with a lower IQ relative to our sample. It is important to consider that several factors might contribute to bias, and differences, in patient and informant ratings (e.g., cognitive deficits, severe emotional regulation dysfunction, self-awareness, social desirability bias, informant's burden, abuse, stress level, and/or personality) ( 30 – 33 ), suggesting that information should be gathered from multiple sources. Finally, the majority of the participants chose a spouse/partner as an informant, and the remaining informants were parents, siblings, friends, or adult children.…”