Grant: Op. Grant: NWHRI: Innovation Fund - Translational Research

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is disturbingly common with a recent Statistics Canada report estimating that 44% of Canadian women have experienced it in their lifetime. Approximately 30% of women who have survived IPV report impacts to the head and face, and non-fatal strangulation - injury mechanisms that have the potential to result in brain injury (BI). Although a number of tools are available for screening potential BI in IPV, they are not designed for clinical decision-making. In order to provide timely and appropriate treatment and support for women who have experienced IPV, it is crucial to detect potential BI as early as possible. Therefore, the proposed work aims to develop a valid and reliable tool that is quick and simple to use and detects whether a BI from IPV has occurred or not. Such a tool should include key questions about the injury mechanisms (e.g., punching, hitting, slapping, non-fatal strangulation, etc.) and BI signs and symptoms (e.g., loss or alteration in consciousness, post-traumatic amnesia, dizziness, memory loss etc.). To determine the sensitivity and specificity of the different questions, they will be compared to blood biomarkers for BI that are being collected at several recruitment sites as part of a related project. This information will be used to to determine the number and content of questions needed to accurately detect whether a BI has occurred or not. As part of this process, Principal Knowledge User Ehirchiou along with the other clinical collaborators on the team will be embedded in the development and refinement of the tool with a particular focus on the ease and feasibility of use. In addition, advice and feedback from the patient perspective will be sought from an advisory panel of women all of whom have lived experience of IPV-BI. As a result of the proposed work, a valid and reliable tool to detect BI from IPV will be available for clinical decision-making.