Violent Victimization Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations in the United States: Findings From the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2017-2018.

Objectives. To estimate US nonlethal violent victimization rates for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) males and females aged 16 years and older and to compare disparities among LGB and straight males and females, controlling for other correlates of victimization.Methods. We used data from the 2017 and 2018 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to provide nationally representative rates of various forms of violent victimization for self-identified LGB and straight persons. Multivariable models assessed the risk for violence associated with LGB status.Results. Total violence rates were 2 to 9 times higher among LGB persons compared with heterosexuals. For some forms of violence (e.g., rape and sexual assault, violence with serious injuries, and multiple offender violence) there were notably high disparities between bisexuals and heterosexuals. With adjustment for covariates, LGB orientation was associated with odds ratios nearly 2 to 4 times those of heterosexuals.Conclusions. This is one of the first known uses of NCVS data to estimate LGB victimization, revealing substantially higher rates of violence directed at LGB individuals.Public Health Implications. Sexual orientation and gender identity questions in federal surveys such as the NCVS enable monitoring of violent victimization rates and should continue. Collecting these data can help researchers understand victimization risk and guide appropriate resources toward victim services, especially important given the high violent crime levels experienced by LGB individuals.

Comparison of Characteristics of Female Drivers with Single and Multiple DUI Convictions.

BACKGROUND: Women are increasingly involved in drunk driving and fatal crashes, yet except for the screening performed in criminal justice settings, little is known about their life context, psychiatric histories, and family backgrounds. This study describes a sample of women with histories of arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) who were interviewed outside a criminal justice setting and contrasts women with single versus multiple DUI convictions. METHODS: Women with recent documented histories of DUI participated in a study of women's health behaviors. Thirty-six women with 1 DUI and 62 with 2 or more DUIs participated in a diagnostic telephone interview which assessed demographics, alcohol use and problems, psychiatric problems, treatment, and partner violence. RESULTS: The sample overall had high rates of co-occurring psychiatric problems, parental alcohol problems, early sexual and physical abuse, and head injuries. Alcohol use severity and the prevalence of head injuries and partner alcohol problems were significantly higher among women with multiple DUIs than women with a single DUI. Measures reflecting life context, such as marital status, number of children, and childhood trauma, were not associated with number of DUIs. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that DUI recidivism in women is accounted for primarily by AUD severity and is not influenced by previous life events such as partner violence, psychiatric problems, and family context such as divorce/separation or number of children. Multiple DUIs in women may mark an alcohol severity threshold beyond which few factors account for additional risk.

Differentiating perceptions of intimate partner violence in Nepal.

Perception of domestic violence is a frequently used indicator of women's empowerment. It is, however, thought to be a binary variable, where women either justify wife beating or they do not. In the Nepal Demographic Health Survey, empowerment is 'high' if the woman answers no to one of five circumstances of wife beating. This study develops a Latent Class Analysis model to determine whether there are categories of women who endorsed some type of violence but not others. A more nuanced measure of perception of domestic violence would improve our understanding on women's empowerment.

Climate Change-Related Water Disasters' Impact on Population Health.

PURPOSE: Rising global temperatures have resulted in an increased frequency and severity of cyclones, hurricanes, and flooding in many parts of the world. These climate change-related water disasters (CCRWDs) have a devastating impact on communities and the health of residents. Clinicians and policymakers require a substantive body of evidence on which to base planning, prevention, and disaster response to these events. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature concerning the impact of CCRWDs on public health in order to identify factors in these events that are amenable to preparedness and mitigation. Ultimately, this evidence could be used by nurses to advocate for greater preparedness initiatives and inform national and international disaster policy. DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic literature review of publications identified through a comprehensive search of five relevant databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL], Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science) was conducted using a modified Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach in January 2017 to describe major themes and associated factors of the impact of CCRWDs on population health. FINDINGS: Three major themes emerged: environmental disruption resulting in exposure to toxins, population susceptibility, and health systems infrastructure (failure to plan-prepare-mitigate, inadequate response, and lack of infrastructure). Direct health impact was characterized by four major categories: weather-related morbidity and mortality, waterborne diseases/water-related illness, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, and psychiatric/mental health effects. Scope and duration of the event are factors that exacerbate the impact of CCRWDs. Discussion of specific factors amenable to mitigation was limited. Flooding as an event was overrepresented in this analysis (60%), and the majority of the research reviewed was conducted in high-income or upper middle-/high-income countries (62%), despite the fact that low-income countries bear a disproportionate share of the burden on morbidity and mortality from CCRWDs. CONCLUSIONS: Empirical evidence related to CCRWDs is predominately descriptive in nature, characterizing the cascade of climatic shifts leading to major environmental disruption and exposure to toxins, and their resultant morbidity and mortality. There is inadequate representation of research exploring potentially modifiable factors associated with CCRWDs and their impact on population health. This review lays the foundation for a wide array of further areas of analysis to explore the negative health impacts of CCRWDs and for nurses to take a leadership role in identifying and advocating for evidence-based policies to plan, prevent, or mitigate these effects. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses comprise the largest global healthcare workforce and are in a position to advocate for disaster preparedness for CCRWDs, develop more robust environmental health policies, and work towards mitigating exposure to environmental toxins that may threaten human health.

Prevalence estimates of trafficking in persons using statistical definitions: a cross-sectional high-risk community survey in Cape Town, South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: Current research on trafficking in persons (TIP) relies heavily on legal and prosecutorial definitions. A public health approach has called for population-level assessment; however, identification of TIP victims lacks a standardised operational definition. This study applied the Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum (PRIF) statistical definitions, developed by the US Department of State, to a community survey in Cape Town, South Africa. DESIGNS: A high-risk sampling strategy was used. TIP screening questions from two instruments were matched with PRIF domain indicators to generate prevalence estimates. Sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristics analyses were conducted to assess the performance of the two screeners. SETTING: Cross-sectional survey conducted in Cape Town, South Africa, from January to October 2021. PARTICIPANTS: South Africans and immigrants from other nations residing in Cape Town and its surrounding areas, aged 18 or older, who met the study inclusion criteria for a set of experiences that were identified as TIP risk factors. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome measures were PRIF lifetime and past 12-month TIP positivity. Secondary outcome measures included individual and summary measures from the two screeners. RESULTS: Our PRIF algorithm yielded a TIP lifetime prevalence rate of 17.0% and past 12-month rate of 2.9%. Summary measures from each TIP screener showed an excellent range of predictive utility. The summary screener measures yielded statistically significant differences among some demographic and background categories. Several screener items were shown less predictive of the PRIF statistical definition criteria than others. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence estimates of probable TIP were higher than those reported elsewhere. Our TIP screeners yielded an excellent range of predictive utility for the statistical definitions, promising the potential for wider applications in global and regional TIP research and policymaking. A more systematic sampling strategy is needed even if statistical definitions become widely used.

A latent class analysis of alcohol and posttraumatic stress symptoms among offspring of parents with and without alcohol use disorder.

The co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) is widely known, yet few studies have examined whether and how AUD symptoms co-occur with PTSD symptom clusters of hypervigilance, avoidance/numbing, and re-experiencing. The purpose of this study was to examine potential overlap between AUD and posttraumatic stress symptomatology, and to characterize the resultant latent classes in terms of demographics, drinking behaviors, parental AUD, and specific traumas experienced (physical violence, sexual violence, and non-assaultive trauma). We hypothesized that classes would be differentiated by type and severity of AUD and PTS symptoms. Drawing from a sample of white and Black participants from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), we examined young adults between the ages of 18-35 who had experienced trauma (N = 2478). A series of LCA models based on the type of trauma experienced, posttraumatic stress symptoms and problematic alcohol use were then fitted to the data. A four-class solution provided the best fit, consisting of a low symptom class (N = 1134), moderate alcohol/low PTS severity (N = 623), mild alcohol/high PTS severity (N = 544), and high symptom severity (N = 177). Higher prevalence of sexual assault was associated with membership in high PTS severity classes, and parent AUD was associated with membership in each class, particularly when the mother or both parents had the disorder. Using person-centered methods such as LCA is a commonsense approach to understanding the heterogeneity of symptoms, trauma types, and individual-level characteristics associated with trauma-exposed individuals and comorbid AUD-PTSD, and our study is one of relatively few to empirically ascertain the co-occurrence of alcohol and PTS symptoms in a high-risk family sample.

Opening the Black Box: Identifying Common Practice Approaches in Urban and Rural Rape Crisis Centers.

This study sought to open the black box of services at rape crisis centers (RCCs), particularly related to counseling, to better understand what is available to survivors in urban and rural settings. Findings from a survey of directors and counselors in Texas RCCs reveal a number of strengths: supporting services for survivors of sexual assault and insights that can help to further advance the implementation of evidence-based trauma treatments in this sector. Although many areas of congruence were found between urban and rural settings, differences were noted that have implications for implementation of evidence-based trauma treatments.

Trauma Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Youth in a High-Risk Family Study: Associations with Maternal and Paternal Alcohol Use Disorder.

This study presents findings regarding the prevalence of trauma exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) based on discrete types of trauma (physical, sexual, witnessed violence, and non-assaultive trauma) among 3404 youth in a family study of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) were used to examine associations of parent AUD with offspring's childhood trauma exposure, and with lifetime diagnosis of DSM-IV PTSD among White and Black participants aged 12-35. Of 3404 youth, 59.7% had parents affected by AUD and 78% experienced ≤1 traumatic events before age 18. AUD in one or both parents was associated with physical, sexual, and witnessed violence among Whites. Among African Americans, maternal AUD was associated with sexual assault. The lifetime PTSD rate among youth exposed to childhood trauma was 8.6%, and mother-only AUD was significantly associated with lifetime PTSD among participants in both groups. PTSD among youth in this study were somewhat higher (7.9% to 8.83%) than those found in general population studies of the same demographic (5% to 6.8%). Maternal AUD appears to be a salient risk factor for sexual assault before age 18 among Black and development of lifetime PTSD among White youth.

Using a Web-Based e-Visit Simulation to Educate Nurse Practitioner Students.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this pilot study was to develop and implement a Web-based, e-Visit simulation experience for nurse practitioner students and evaluate student satisfaction and perceived learning. METHOD: The convenience sample consisted of 26 senior-level Master of Science in Nursing students in the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner programs. A Likert survey was used for evaluation that measured items from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). RESULTS: Students reported that the simulation cases closely resembled real-world patients (97%; M = 4.42, SD = 0.69), providing them with a better understanding of complaints commonly addressed via telehealth services (96%; M = 4.46, SD = 0.57). Accuracy of diagnosis and treatment on first attempt was 95%. CONCLUSION: A Web-based, e-Visit simulation can be a useful learning experience for nurse practitioner students with knowledge gained that is transferable to real clinical situations. [J Nurs Educ. 2018;57(5):304-307.].

Ethics, Methods, and Measures in Intimate Partner Violence Research: The Current State of the Field.

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) is a well-studied topic, surprisingly little consensus among researchers has been reached with regard to the definition and measurement of its major typologies and constructs. The rigorous development and testing of prevention and intervention strategies on a large scale are hampered by many of these methodological difficulties as well as ethical considerations that make conducting IPV research difficult. The author presents a review of the current state of IPV research in these three areas (ethics, methods, and measurement) with suggestions for innovative research possibilities building from this status quo. Moving the field of IPV research forward is necessary to establish a broader evidence base for the prevention and treatment of abuse and to improve outcomes for survivors of IPV.

Familial association of abstinent remission from alcohol use disorder in first-degree relatives of alcohol-dependent treatment-seeking probands.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Studies that have included family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD) as a predictor of remission from AUD have yielded few significant results. The goals of this study were to estimate the association of persistent AUD, non-abstinent remission and abstinent remission ('AUD/remission status') in a proband with AUD/remission status in a relative and to test whether this association differed in related and unrelated proband-relative pairs. DESIGN: High-risk family study of alcohol dependence. Probands were recruited from treatment settings and relatives were invited to participate. Baseline assessments occurred between 1991 and 1998 with follow-up between 1996 and 2005. Half of probands were matched with a biological 1st-degree relative with life-time AUD (related group) and half of probands were paired with an unrelated individual with life-time AUD (unrelated group). SETTING: Brooklyn, New York; Indianapolis, Indiana; Iowa City, Iowa; San Diego, California; Farmington, Connecticut; and St Louis, Missouri, USA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 606 probands (25.7% female, mean age 37.7) with baseline and follow-up data and 606 of their 1st-degree relatives who had life-ime AUDs (45.8% female, mean age 36.2 years). MEASUREMENTS: Persistent AUD, non-abstinent remission and abstinent remission were based on self-report interview data on most recent AUD symptoms and alcohol consumption. Dependent variable was relatives' AUD/remission status. Independent variable was probands' AUD/remission status. FINDINGS: A total of 34.6% of probands and 20.6% of relatives were abstinent and 11.1% of probands and 22.8% of relatives were in non-abstinent remission. AUD/remission status was correlated significantly in related (r = 0.23, P = 0.0037) but not in unrelated pairs. A significant interaction of probands' abstinent remission with a variable representing related (versus unrelated, P = 0.003) pairs suggested a familial association for abstinent remission. In related pairs, individuals with an abstinent proband were more likely to be abstinent themselves than were individuals whose proband had persistent AUD [relative risk ratio = 3.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.56-6.85, P = 0.002]; this association was not significant in unrelated pairs. CONCLUSIONS: The likelihood of abstinent remission among people with alcohol use disorder appears to be more than three times greater for individuals who are related to an abstinent proband versus those related to a proband with persistent alcohol use disorder.

Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to Increase Provider Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Health Clinics.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the utility of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as a tool for conceptualizing and overcoming obstacles to the implementation of universal screening practices for intimate partner violence (IPV), with a particular focus on rural family practice settings. This article uses data from a 2014 statewide survey of rural primary care providers to identify potential leverage points for policy and practice changes. METHODS: The Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence was administered to 134 physicians and nurses at rural health clinics in a Midwestern state. Six scales measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were computed and analyzed with bivariate and logistic regression models to ascertain links between knowledge/attitudes and screening/response behaviors. FINDINGS: Knowledge and attitudes did not predict screening; rather, the number of hours of previous training on abuse and the organizational protocols of the clinics where providers were employed significantly increased the likelihood of frequent IPV screening. CONCLUSIONS: Guided by Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research principles, the author concludes that external factors, that is, state or national policies mandating IPV screening in clinics, may be an effective way to increase provider identification of a major public health problem affecting women. Rural women may benefit especially from IPV screening during health care encounters, because there are few other supportive services for abuse survivors in rural areas.