May 24, 2017 – Abuse and Health

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Anchor lead: Abuse may complicate healthcare for women, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Health consequences of abuse to women, whether that’s something that happened when they were children or adults, impacts on their management of chronic health problems. That’s according to Carmen Alvarez, a researcher on women’s health issues at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

Alvarez: There is an association between child abuse, adult abuse, so intimate partner violence, and poorer health outcomes. Women who do have a chronic illness and a history of trauma are different from those who have a chronic illness alone, that those with chronic illness and a history of trauma are greater utilizers of care. How can we encourage providers to know when they really need to engage patients a bit more?  :27

Alvarez says providers need to be aware of their opportunity to empower women with a history of abuse to adopt healthy behaviors and recognize how their own history may be compromising them in healing. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.