Doctors can help stop abuse

The AMA provides a roadmap to address intimate partner violence.

Editorial. Jan. 27, 2003.

We're about to turn the calendar past the first month of 2003. That means the nation is nearly one-third of the way down the path set by Healthy People 2010, a collection of crucial national health objectives.

Violence is high on that list, because of the damaging impact it has on our collective mental and physical health. Enormous progress in combating violence is needed if our public health potential is to be achieved.

That's why the AMA has chosen to focus physicians' attention on one of the most preventable forms of violence -- abuse among spouses and others in close relationships -- with the release of Case Studies in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Intimate Partner Violence. It wasdeveloped as part of the AMA program, Roadmaps for Clinical Practice. The goal of the entire series is to empower doctors with the clinical information they need to direct their patients toward the nation's overarching health goals.

Intimate partner violence offers an excellent starting point.

The AMA has long worked to raise awareness about such abuse through various initiatives, including the National Coalition of Physicians Against Family Violence and the hard work of the AMA Alliance.

The reason why is clear: Intimate partner violence is a pattern of behaviors that may include repeated battering and injury, psychological abuse, sexual assault, progressive social isolation, deprivation, and/or intimidation. Regardless of the form, the intent is always for one partner to exert control over the other.