Intimate Partner Violence Prevention

STOP Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

STOP IPV is a multi-component, collaborative program, supported by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Lutheran Settlement House (LSH) and Laurel House (LH). STOP IPV is designed to address intimate partner violence and teen dating violence, while also considering the impact of child abuse and community violence on individuals and families.

More than 15.5 million children in the US are exposed to intimate partner violence annually, with established adverse effects related to poor health, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Read more about intimate partner violence and domestic violence.

Because of this evidence, STOP IPV aims to support universal education by pediatric healthcare providers in order to help families experiencing intimate partner violence and to also minimize the adverse effects of children exposed to intimate partner violence. Through training, education, and awareness raising, STOP IPV works to strengthen CHOP’s trauma-informed response to this important issue.

The program was developed by the Institute for Safe Families and the LSH’s Bilingual Domestic Violence Program and is currently maintained at CHOP, Jefferson Torresdale and Jefferson Frankford Hospital through LSH.

Program Details

How STOP IPV Works

The program works to create a culture within CHOP where inquiring about intimate partner violence exposure and offering education is routine and results in appropriate responses and referrals to services.

By providing families with access to an on-site intimate partner violence specialist, STOP IPV at CHOP enhances the potential likelihood and benefits of routinely inquiring about intimate partner violence, and provides children and families with further support as needed. 

Laminated universal education cards – currently available in English; Spanish; Amharic; Arabic; Bengali; Burmese; Chinese; Farsi; Filipino; French; Khmer; Nepali; Portuguese; Swahili; Ukranian; and Vietnamese – enable healthcare providers to offer non-verbal education and screening with patients’ caregivers, enhancing safety for caregivers and ensuring that inquiry is conducted systematically and sensitively. 

Through STOP IPV, CHOP patients and families have access to on-site IPV specialists who, while primarily based at the Karabots Pediatric Care Center, CHOP Main Campus and CHOP's new hospital in King of Prussia, are available to CHOP patient families, clinicians, and employees hospital-wide.

In addition to providing direct support to families, the IPV specialists support CHOP clinicians through trainings, case consultations, and policy advocacy.

STOP IPV provides free and confidential counseling and support, which is maintained through LSH. CHOP clinical staff can contact a CHOP-based IPV specialist for help if:

• Staff have a question or suspicion about a patient or family member and would like case consultation
• Staff or someone they know is experiencing intimate partner violence or family violence
• Staff are interested in education, training, or materials for their own use or use by their department

The CHOP IPV Task Force, comprised of a multidisciplinary group of 40 members from across the institution, meets regularly to ensure the continued promotion of IPV education, awareness, and assessment practices throughout the hospital.

IPV specialists are also available to provide crisis and ongoing support to CHOP staff who are personally affected by intimate partner violence. CHOP staff who are interested in getting help can reach out directly to the IPV team.

The Community We Serve

Presently, we serve all CHOP patients and patient families who are referred by a clinical staff member. We also serve CHOP staff through self-referrals.

STOP IPV Impact

In 2023, nearly 100,000 CHOP patient caregivers were screened for IPV in the CHOP ED, Karabots Primary Care, and South Philly Primary Care sites, and 305 individuals were identified and referred for IPV support across sites. Since 2015, the STOP IPV team has provided over 3,000 referrals to LSH and LH.

Staff training is also a vital component of the program. IPV specialists train healthcare professionals across CHOP on topics such as the effects of intimate partner violence on children and ways to respond in the pediatric setting. Program staff routinely provide in-person training to CHOP employees in diverse roles including residents and trainees, security guards, and clinical teams across inpatient and outpatient units. Beginning in 2017, information regarding the resources related to IPV were included in the bi-annual mandatory education training for all CHOP employees, and a new policy was created to guide hospital-wide efforts. In 2023, IPV advocates provided 120 case consultations and 29 trainings to providers.

Towards a Replicable Model

STOP IPV provides a comprehensive model for incorporating intimate partner violence prevention into routine pediatric practice through education and training of physicians, social workers, nurses, and other staff, along with expert clinical consultation and linkage to community-based parenting education programs for referrals.  

STOP IPV is available at other Philadelphia area-based pediatric and adult healthcare institutions. CHOP is collaborating on a workgroup comprised of staff from LSH, Einstein Medical Center, and Jefferson Health to clarify and refine outcomes of the program and develop standardized evaluation activities across all clinical sites.

Of note, CHOP has developed and implemented a novel electronic health record-based referral system that streamlines the referral process to the IPV specialist and maintains the confidentiality and safety for those who disclose IPV. Currently, 30-35% percent of caregivers are routinely receiving IPV universal education in the ED, while rates at the Karabots Pediatric Care Center are over 60%. Efforts are currently underway to replicate this universal education and referral process beyond these settings, throughout the CHOP network.

STAR Program Collaboration

CHOP has also embarked on an innovative project in collaboration with LSH aimed at addressing the pressing issue of teen dating violence (TDV) in Philadelphia. STAR (Students Talking About Relationships) is a culturally adapted evidence-based TDV prevention program that supports youth and builds community capacity. 

Program Details

STAR Funding

LSH has been offering STAR in the community for nearly a decade. Through the support of a $50,000 pilot grant from CHOP's Office of Community Impact, LSH expanded the reach of this program.

Building on insights and successes of the initial grant, the project team received a grant of $750,000 from the Philadelphia Office of Crime and Delinquency. This funding will be utilized to further develop and implement the STAR program in 10 schools across Philadelphia over a period of 2.5 years.

Program Integration at CHOP

As part of this collaborative effort between CHOP and LSH, the team will be working with The Possibilities Project to integrate routine TDV screening and education into the Adolescent Health Questionnaire (AHQ). This integration will enable a more comprehensive approach to addressing teen dating violence within the CHOP enterprise.

Program Impact

Additionally, efforts are being made to broaden TDV training within the CHOP enterprise and establish a stronger connection to a TDV Specialist at LSH. This holistic approach seeks to make a significant impact in preventing teen dating violence and promoting healthier relationships among Philadelphia's youth.

Recommended Reading on Intimate Partner Violence Prevention

 Relevant Publications

• Cruz M, Cruz PB, Weirich C, McGorty R, McColgan MD. Referral Patterns and Service Utilization in a Pediatric Hospital-wide Intimate Partner Violence Program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2013. 37(8):511-519.
• Ellen S, Taylor DR, Cruz M. Pediatrics in the Community: Behind The Screen: Responding to Intimate Partner Violence. Pediatrics in Review, 2012. 33:374-375. 
• McColgan MD, Cruz M, McKee J, Dempsey SH, Davis MB, Barry P, Yoder AL, Giardino AP.  Results of a Multifaceted Intimate Partner Violence Training Program for Pediatric Residents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2010. 34(4):275-283.
• Smith SG, Zhang X, Basile KC, Merrick MT, Wang J, Kresnow M, Chen J. National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Thackeray JD, Hibbard R, Dowd MD, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, Committee on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention. Intimate Partner Violence: The role of the Pediatrician. Pediatrics, 2010.125(5):1094–1100.

CHOP Publications on Intimate Partner Violence

• Forke CM, Catallozzi M, Localio R, Grisso JAnn, Wiebe DJ, Fein JA. Intergenerational Effects of Witnessing Domestic Violence: Health of the Witnesses and their Children. Preventative Medicine Reports, 2019.
• Forke CM, Myers RK, Localio RA, Wiebe DJ, Fein JA, Grisso JAnn, Catallozzi M. Intimate Partner Violence: Childhood Witnessing and Subsequent Experiences of College Undergraduates. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2019.
• Mancheno C, Aumaier B, Murray A. Screening for Intimate Partner Violence in a Pediatric ED: A Quality Improvement Initiative. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2020.
• Schilling S, Murray A, Mollen CJ, Wedin T, Fein JA, PV S. Pediatric Emergency Department and Primary Care Provider Attitudes on Assessing Childhood Adversity. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2019;35(8):527-532.