[Validation of a short questionnaire to use in clinical consultations to detect gender violence]. / Validación de un cuestionario breve para detectar situaciones de violencia de género en las consultas clínicas.

OBJECTIVE: To validate a Spanish-language questionnaire to be used in primary care consultations to detect cases of violence against women. METHODS: The validation study was carried out between October 2002 and October 2003 in the Program of General Internal Medicine of the Clinical Hospital of the University of Buenos Aires, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The original version of this Spanish-language questionnaire had been developed in sexual and reproductive health clinics of five countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The questionnaire covered the most frequent forms of gender-based violence (emotional, physical, sexual, and sexual abuse during childhood); explored how and when the violence occurred and who perpetrated it; and investigated the patient's perception of her current risk. In the research in Buenos Aires the format and theoretical content of the survey were evaluated, and linguistic and psychometric validations were also carried out. The reliability of the tool was assessed in terms of its reproducibility, stability, and internal consistency. RESULTS: The study found that the women surveyed in Buenos Aires had a good understanding of the questions, the examples given with the questions, and the response options. The women did not perceive the survey as being intimidating or as an intrusion into their private lives. The women generally regarded the use of the survey in primary care settings as a key opportunity for them to express their suffering and to receive assistance. The level of agreement for the answers to the questions in all five areas (psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse during childhood, and perception of current risk) was very high, in terms of both reproducibility (kappa values of 0.63 to 1.00) and stability (kappa values of 0.62 to 1.00). The alpha correlation coefficient for internal consistency was 0.755 for psychological violence and physical violence, 0.498 for psychological violence and sexual violence, 0.596 for physical violence and sexual violence, and 0.715 for the different manifestations of violence (psychological, physical, sexual, and abuse during childhood). CONCLUSION: This research demonstrated the soundness of the brief questionnaire, in terms of its format, content, comprehensiveness, and reliability. This instrument can be used in clinical consultations to detect situations of psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, and sexual abuse during childhood.

Validación de un cuestionario breve para detectar situaciones de violencia de género en las consultas clínicas / Validation of a short questionnaire to use in clinical consultations to detect gender violence

Objetivos. Validar un cuestionario diseñado para detectar casos de violencia, en consultorios de atención primaria, hacia mujeres de habla hispana. Métodos. El estudio de validación se llevó a cabo entre octubre de 2002 y octubre de 2003 en el Programa de Medicina Interna General del Hospital de Clínicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. El cuestionario original en español se había formulado en clínicas de salud sexual y reproductiva de cinco países de América Latina y el Caribe. En él se abarcaban las formas más frecuentes de violencia basada en el género (VBG) (emocional, física, sexual y abuso sexual durante la niñez); se exploraba cómo, cuándo y quién perpetró la agresión, y se indagaba acerca de la percepción de la paciente con respecto al peligro en que se encontraba. Durante la investigación en Buenos Aires se evaluaron el formato y el contenido teórico de la encuesta y se realizaron validaciones lingüística y psicométrica. Se evaluó la confiabilidad del instrumento en términos de reproducibilidad, estabilidad y coherencia interna. Resultados. Se comprobó que las mujeres encuestadas comprendieron bien las preguntas, los ejemplos dados y las opciones de respuesta y que no percibieron la encuesta como un elemento de intimidación, ni una intromisión en su vida privada. En general consideraron su aplicación en el ámbito de la atención primaria como una oportunidad clave para expresar su sufrimiento y recibir ayuda. El nivel de concordancia entre las respuestas en las cinco áreas exploradas (violencia psicológica, violencia psíquica, violencia sexual, abuso sexual en la niñez y percepción del riesgo actual) fue muy alta, tanto en lo que respecta a reproducibilidad (valores de kappa de 0,63 a 1,00) como a estabilidad (valores de kappa de 0,62 a 1,00). La coherencia interna, evaluada mediante el coeficiente de correlación alfa, fue de 0,755 entre la violencia psíquica y la física, de 0,498 entre la violencia psíquica y la sexual, de 0,596 entre la violencia física y la sexual, y de 0,715 entre las diferentes manifestaciones de violencia (psíquica, física, sexual y abuso sexual durante la niñez). Conclusión. Se demostró la solidez de este cuestionario breve de evaluación, tanto por su formato y su contenido como por su carácter integral y confiabilidad. Este cuestionario puede emplearse en las consultas clínicas para detectar situaciones de violencia psíquica, física y sexual, así como de abuso sexual durante la niñez

Objective. To validate a Spanish-language questionnaire to be used in primary care consultations to detect cases of violence against women. Methods. The validation study was carried out between October 2002 and October 2003 in the Program of General Internal Medicine of the Clinical Hospital of the University of Buenos Aires, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The original version of this Spanish-language questionnaire had been developed in sexual and reproductive health clinics of five countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The questionnaire covered the most frequent forms of gender-based violence (emotional, physical, sexual, and sexual abuse during childhood); explored how and when the violence occurred and who perpetrated it; and investigated the patient's perception of her current risk. In the research in Buenos Aires the format and theoretical content of the survey were evaluated, and linguistic and psychometric validations were also carried out. The reliability of the tool was assessed in terms of its reproducibility, stability, and internal consistency. Results. The study found that the women surveyed in Buenos Aires had a good understanding of the questions, the examples given with the questions, and the response options. The women did not perceive the survey as being intimidating or as an intrusion into their private lives. The women generally regarded the use of the survey in primary care settings as a key opportunity for them to express their suffering and to receive assistance. The level of agreement for the answers to the questions in all five areas (psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, sexual abuse during childhood, and perception of current risk) was very high, in terms of both reproducibility (kappa values of 0.63 to 1.00) and stability (kappa values of 0.62 to 1.00). The alpha correlation coefficient for internal consistency was 0.755 for psychological violence and physical violence, 0.498 for psychological violence and sexual violence, 0.596 for physical violence and sexual violence, and 0.715 for the different manifestations of violence (psychological, physical, sexual, and abuse during childhood). Conclusion. This research demonstrated the soundness of the brief questionnaire, in terms of its format, content, comprehensiveness, and reliability. This instrument can be used in clinical consultations to detect situations of psychological violence, physical violence, sexual violence, and sexual abuse during childhood