Barriers and Facilitators to Screening College Women for Intimate Partner Violence/Sexual Violence in Campus Health Centers: A Qualitative Study

About 25% of college women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) or sexual violence (SV). Routine screening can identify those experiencing violence, refer them for care and mitigate long-term sequelae. We interviewed 35 healthcare providers to explore barriers and facilitators to IPV/SV screening in U.S. college health centers. Individual-level barriers were personal discomfort asking about IPV/SV and perceived student resistance to being asked. Organizational barriers included lack of established policies/procedures, inadequate time/staffing and referral resources and perceived lack of standardized IPV/SV screening guidelines. Facilitators were having IPV/SV screening questions within the electronic health record and universal approaches to IPV/SV screening.