Mobile Remote Monitoring of Intimate Partner Violence Among Pregnant Patients During the COVID-19 Shelter-In-Place Order: Quality Improvement Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. Prenatal health care providers can offer critical screening and support to pregnant people who experience IPV. During the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, mobile apps may offer such people the opportunity to continue receiving screening and support services., OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine cases of IPV that were reported on a prenatal care app before and during the implementation of COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates., METHODS: The number of patients who underwent voluntary IPV screening and the incidence rate of IPV were determined by using a prenatal care app that was disseminated to patients from a single, large health care system. We compared the IPV screening frequencies and IPV incidence rates of patients who started using the app before the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, to those of patients who started using the app during the shelter-in-place order., RESULTS: We found 552 patients who started using the app within 60 days prior to the enforcement of the shelter-in-place order, and 407 patients who used the app at the start of shelter-in-place enforcement until the order was lifted. The incidence rates of voluntary IPV screening for new app users during the two time periods were similar (before sheltering in place: 252/552, 46%; during sheltering in place: 163/407, 40%). The overall use of the IPV screening tool increased during the shelter-in-place order. A slight, nonsignificant increase in the incidence of physical, sexual, and psychological violence during the shelter-in-place order was found across all app users (P=.56). Notably, none of the patients who screened positively for IPV had mentions of IPV in their medical charts., CONCLUSIONS: App-based screening for IPV is feasible during times when in-person access to health care providers is limited. Our results suggest that the incidence of IPV slightly increased during the shelter-in-place order. App-based screening may also address the needs of those who are unwilling or unable to share their IPV experiences with their health care provider. Copyright ©Tamar Krishnamurti, Alexander L Davis, Beth Quinn, Anabel F Castillo, Kelly L Martin, Hyagriv N Simhan. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 19.02.2021.

Extra: Section: Krishnamurti, Tamar. Department of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Davis, Alexander L. Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Quinn, Beth. UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Castillo, Anabel F. Naima Health LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Martin, Kelly L. UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Simhan, Hyagriv N. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States.