Advancing Trauma-Informed Care for Intimate Partner Violence Survivors

Intimate partner violence (IPV), defined as controlling behaviors within a past or current intimate relationship, affects 1 in 3 people in the US.One in 5 US children are exposed to caregiver IPV, with detrimental health, development, and academic impacts. 1 Health care clinicians have a unique opportunity to support IPV survivors and their families by providing strength-based, traumainformed care. 1 Tiyyagura et al 2 have described results from a community-partnered ethnographic study of social workers interacting with IPV survivors in emergency departments.The study elucidated how IPV and trauma interweave with experiences of community violence and structural inequities, including immigration stressors and language barriers.Key aspects of trauma-informed care for IPV survivors emerged, including safe and calming spaces, trusting relationships, and survivor capacity building and resource connections.One cross-cutting finding is how structural and social influences of health factor into the experience of IPV survivors.IPV survivors are more likely than the general population to report unmet basic needs, and food, housing, and transportation may be used by abusive partners to control or manipulate.Furthermore, structural factors such as fear of law enforcement and implementation of anti-LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) and antiimmigration policies may make help seeking more difficult.It is critical to recognize that non-IPV resources such as housing and food may be key supports for IPV survivors.Health care systems should not silo various social and structural influences of health but instead consider how trauma and healing are experienced across individual, interpersonal, and structural levels.This study also described the importance of place-based factors in trauma-informed care.Health care can be chaotic and triggering for IPV survivors.Physical triggers may include loud noises, bright lights, or crowded waiting rooms.Health care environments can also be emotionally traumatizing.Staffing and space limitations are common barriers to adherence to best practice +