Risk scoring for domestic violence in pregnancy

Background: Most studies and work on domestic violence against women are aimed at helping victims. Studies aimed at detecting those at risk of domestic violence are few. Risk identification has important implications for early detection and prevention. Methods: A risk scoring tool was developed and tested on 466 antenatal clinic attendees at 3 levels of health care in Zaria, Nigeria. Results: The prevalence of domestic violence was 11.8%. The sensitivity of the tool was 96.6% and specificity 11.8%. The positive predictive value and accuracy were 13.7% and 22.5% respectively. Conclusions: The tool has a high sensitivity and could be a good screening tool for identifying those at risk for domestic violence in pregnancy.