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When Annie Lewis-O'Connor, NP, PhD, first became a nurse practitioner, she noticed a puzzling trend among some of her youngest female patients.
Reason suggested that these women should have been in the prime of their health and lives, but in fact, they were some of the sickest. They were also facing domestic violence.
"My patients were coming in with all kinds of medical problems," said Lewis-O'Connor, founder and director of the Women's CARE (Coordinated Approach to Recovery and Empowerment) Clinic at BWH. "What we found was a strong correlation between intimate partner abuse, or domestic violence, and negative health consequences."
Earlier this year, Vice President Joe Biden and Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Boston would receive one of 12 grants to build on the city's work to reduce domestic violence homicides. As part of the new Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative, the Boston Public Health Commission's (BPHC) Family Justice Center and BWH will receive $200,000 for a one-year program that will assess how potential victims are identified and supported, and make recommendations for improved practices. Lewis-O'Connor, who was instrumental in writing the grant proposal and securing the funding, calls the initiative an excellent opportunity and collaboration.
Using her research skills, Lewis-O'Connor will work closely with the Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Police Department and BWH Passageway to explore best practices for recognizing high-risk cases of domestic violence.
"With this grant, we have an opportunity to better identify the risks of morbidity and mortality, and help mitigate some of the health consequences that result from domestic violence," said Lewis-O'Connor.
She says that the goal is to bring together organized teams from law enforcement and the district attorney's office to discuss high-risk domestic violence cases, making sure health care providers are at the table.
"We hope to demonstrate that making a patient's high-risk team more inclusive and including care providers-especially from hospitals' emergency departments, where we see the majority of these cases-will make a huge difference in how we all connect and support our high-risk patients," said Lewis-O'Connor.
Since the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 1994, annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60 percent, but about 1,400 deaths per year resulting from intimate partner abuse still occur in the U.S., said Lewis-O'Connor.
"I know we're on to something with this grant," she said. "At the end of year, we will present our results, and six of the 12 initiatives will be chosen to initiate and implement their proposal. I feel the wind in our sails."