Recognizing the high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women and girls who are either at risk for or suffer from intimate partner violence (IPV) and the overlapping challenges posed by both public health issues, the White House established an Interagency Federal Working Group to address the intersection of both public health issues in 2012. We conducted this systematic review in response to the Working Group's charge to identify and describe interventions that address both IPV and HIV among women. We identified 14 studies that met our inclusion criteria, including seven studies (nine unique intervention arms) that significantly affected at least one outcome related to IPV and HIV. In this article, we examine the characteristics of these studies including core components, intervention populations, and effectiveness data. We highlight opportunities to improve the effectiveness of existing interventions, guide future research about IPV and HIV, and inform prevention programmatic delivery. This knowledge will improve the lives of populations at risk, reduce gender-related health disparities, and ultimately reduce the societal burden of both public health issues.

Limited information exists on the relationship between sexual violence victimization and health among African American women. Using data from a community sample of African American women, we examine the association between current health and lifetime experiences of sexual violence. In-person interviews were completed in 2010. Among interviewees, 53.7% of women reported rape victimization and 44.8% reported sexual coercion in their lifetime. Victims of rape or sexual coercion were significantly more likely to report depression and posttraumatic stress disorder during their lifetime. Among victims whose first unwanted sexual experience was rape or sexual coercion, perpetrators were mostly acquaintances and intimate partners, and over one third were injured and needed services. More attention is needed on the health needs of African American women and their association to victimization status.

This study sought to add to the limited information currently available on circumstances of sexual violence victimization and associated negative health experiences among Hispanic women. Data come from a community sample of mostly Mexican women in an urban southwestern city. Household interviews were completed with a sample of 142 women during 3 months in 2010. Findings indicate that 31.2% of women reported rape victimization and 22.7% reported being sexually coerced in their lifetime. Victims of rape and/or sexual coercion were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetime. Among victims whose first unwanted sexual experience resulted in rape and/or sexual coercion, perpetrators were almost always someone known to the victims, and were mostly family members or intimate partners, depending on the victim’s age. About one-fifth of victims were injured and 17.1% needed medical services. These findings suggest the need for more attention to the physical and mental health needs of sexually victimized Hispanic women.

Little is known about the influence of spirituality on service utilization and satisfaction among women survivors of intimate partner abuse (IPA). The purpose of this study was to examine differences between shelter and faith-based service utilization and satisfaction in a shelter sample (N = 73). Multiple regression techniques were used. The findings suggest that survivors with higher spirituality were more likely to utilize faith-based resources than shelters. Those who experienced greater IPA reported dissatisfaction with faith-based resources. These results suggest that spirituality should be incorporated into shelter services to meet survivors' spiritual needs, and faith-based services should adequately address IPA.

In this article, meta-analytic techniques are used to examine existing intervention studies (n = 11) to determine their effects on substance abuse among female samples of intimate partner abuse (IPA) survivors. This research serves as a starting point for greater attention in research and practice to the implementation of evidence-based, integrated services to address co-occurring substance abuse and IPA victimization among women as major intersecting public health problems. The results show greater effects in three main areas. First, greater effect sizes exist in studies where larger numbers of women experienced current IPA. Second, studies with a lower mean age also showed greater effect sizes than studies with a higher mean age. Lastly, studies with smaller sample sizes have greater effects. This research helps to facilitate cohesion in the knowledge base on this topic, and the findings of this meta-analysis, in particular, contribute needed information to gaps in the literature on the level of promise of existing interventions to impact substance abuse in this underserved population.