Basic health services Archives - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) among women users of Basic Health Units (BHU) in the State of São Paulo. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study based on secondary data analysis of women users' interviews at 75 BHU in the State of São Paulo, from August/2008 to May/2009. We used a questionnaire based on the Abuse Assessment Screen and the Conflict Tactics Scales modified by the Violence Against Women Study (VAW), structured and pre-tested. The variables studied were the types of IPV (psychological, physical and sexual) and sociodemographic variables (age, education, race, paid work, religion, marital status and economic class). We interviewed 2,379 women aged 18 to 60 years. RESULTS: The prevalence of lifetime IPV was 55.7%, and the prevalences of psychological, physical and sexual IPV were 53.8, 32.2 and 12.4%, respectively. Women without a partner but previously married, with schooling <8 years and belonging to the lower economic class had a higher risk for all types of IPV, and other factors were also associated with psychological and sexual IPV. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of IPV is high. Healthcare professionals in primary care should make an attempt to detect IPV.