Associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and poor physical and mental health of women have been demonstrated in the international and national literature across numerous studies. This paper presents a review of the literature on this topic. The 75 papers included in this review cover both original research studies and those which undertook secondary analyses of primary data sources. The reviewed research papers published from 2006 to 2012 include quantitative and qualitative studies from Western and developing countries. The results show that while there is variation in prevalence of IPV across various cultural settings, IPV was associated with a range of mental health issues including depression, PTSD, anxiety, self-harm, and sleep disorders. In most studies, these effects were observed using validated measurement tools. IPV was also found to be associated with poor physical health including poor functional health, somatic disorders, chronic disorders and chronic pain, gynaecological problems, and increased risk of STIs. An increased risk of HIV was reported to be associated with a history of sexual abuse and violence. The implications of the study findings in relation to methodological issues, clinical significance, and future research direction are discussed.

ObjectiveTo report on self-reported physical and mental health of informal carers in rural regions of New South Wales, Australia.MethodsA cross-sectional community-based sample (n=222) of carers completed a questionnaire incorporating self-reported measures of health from validated international instruments including Medical Outcomes Study Scale (SF-36), the Centre for Epidemiology-Depression (CES-D) and Kessler-10 (K-10) Psychological Distress Scales, along with information on participant demographics and other key caregiving characteristics such as health condition of care recipient.ResultsRural carers’ self-reported health was poor as evident on the SF-36 Physical and Mental Health component scores as well as each individual domain of the SF-36. Results from the CES-D and K-10 scores indicated very high rates of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Over 70% of carers within the current study had CES-D scores indicative of depressive symptoms. Scores on the K-10 indicate almost half the carers were experiencing high levels of psychological distress, which is over 4 times the rate reported in the general Australian population.Conclusions and implicationsResults from this study were compared to Australian population normative data and were found to be significantly below Australian age-matched population norms for SF-36, CES-D and K-10. These findings illustrate the poor health profile of informal carers relative to the general Australian population, especially in terms of depressive symptoms and psychological distress. This highlights the need for additional support for rural carers in order to ease the accumulated mental and physical health burdens of this group.

ObjectiveTo investigate differences in self-reported health among Australian women with a history of intimate partner violence (IPV) in relation to rurality of residence.MethodsData were drawn from six survey waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health 1973–78 birth cohort. Self-reported general and mental health scores derived from the SF-36 scale were compared for women with a history of IPV living in metropolitan, regional and rural areas. Multivariable generalised estimating equations were constructed adjusting for income hardship, number of children, education, social support, age and marital status.ResultsWomen with a history of IPV living in regional and rural areas had no significant differences in self-reported general health scores compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Rural women affected by IPV had slightly better self-reported mental health than equivalent women living in metropolitan or regional areas. The socio-demographic factors with the strongest association with self-reported health were income, education, social support, and number of children.ConclusionsWomen in regional and rural areas were no more disadvantaged, in terms of self-reported general health or mental health, than IPV affected women living in major cities in Australia.

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Data from a national, population-based longitudinal study of Australian women (26-34 years) were analyzed to investigate the association between domestic relocation and multiple explanatory factors, namely intimate partner violence (IPV), metropolitan versus non-metropolitan residence, education, income, housing tenure, number of children, and changes in relationship status. Experience of IPV in the past 12 months was significantly associated with increased odds of domestic relocation. This association remained significant after controlling for age, social support, area of residence, income, number of children, education, and housing situation. Change in relationship status attenuated the association between recent IPV and domestic relocation. Metropolitan versus non-metropolitan residence had no major influence on these results.