Study Population
The study population consisted of intentionally injured women and a control group of women who had not been intentionally injured who sought medical care at the participating emergency departments during the study period and who had current or recent (within one year) male partners. We defined an intentionally injured woman as any woman, 18 to 64 years of age, who had been assaulted and injured within the preceding two weeks by a current or recent male partner (boyfriend, husband, ex-boyfriend, or ex-husband). Specially trained physicians or research assistants identified eligible women with use of a standardized question- naire administered to women with a history of trauma or signs of injury. The questionnaire was designed for use in emergency departments to identify episodes of domestic violence. 7,8 Eligible women were included only if they reported or acknowledged being physically assaulted by their male partners. Women were ex- cluded if they had also been sexually assaulted. The control group was made up of women 18 to 64 years of age who were seen in the emergency department and who were selected in order to represent the distribution of study variables in the source population. At each study site, for periods of up to 15 months, research assistants identified, selected, and interviewed all consecutive eligible female patients. Women without a current or recent (within one year) male partner and women with a history of injury from domestic violence within the preceding year were excluded. Emergency-department–based controls were considered more appropriate than population-based controls because some victims of domestic violence in the source population may not have been treated for their injuries. 9-11 This method of nonrandom sampling was preferable to population-based sampling because it considered the selection factors that brought the controls to the emergency departments. 9-14 The spectrum of initial diagnoses among the control patients was very wide; we did not document their final diagnoses
ประชากรศึกษา The study population consisted of intentionally injured women and a control group of women who had not been intentionally injured who sought medical care at the participating emergency departments during the study period and who had current or recent (within one year) male partners. We defined an intentionally injured woman as any woman, 18 to 64 years of age, who had been assaulted and injured within the preceding two weeks by a current or recent male partner (boyfriend, husband, ex-boyfriend, or ex-husband). Specially trained physicians or research assistants identified eligible women with use of a standardized question- naire administered to women with a history of trauma or signs of injury. The questionnaire was designed for use in emergency departments to identify episodes of domestic violence. 7,8 Eligible women were included only if they reported or acknowledged being physically assaulted by their male partners. Women were ex- cluded if they had also been sexually assaulted. The control group was made up of women 18 to 64 years of age who were seen in the emergency department and who were selected in order to represent the distribution of study variables in the source population. At each study site, for periods of up to 15 months, research assistants identified, selected, and interviewed all consecutive eligible female patients. Women without a current or recent (within one year) male partner and women with a history of injury from domestic violence within the preceding year were excluded. Emergency-department–based controls were considered more appropriate than population-based controls because some victims of domestic violence in the source population may not have been treated for their injuries. 9-11 This method of nonrandom sampling was preferable to population-based sampling because it considered the selection factors that brought the controls to the emergency departments. 9-14 The spectrum of initial diagnoses among the control patients was very wide; we did not document their final diagnoses
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