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Objectives. This 11-city study sought to identify risk factors for femicide in abusive relationships. Methods. Proxies of 220 intimate partner femicide victims identified from police or medical examiner records were interviewed, along with 343 abused control women. Results. Preincident risk factors associated in multivariate analyses with increased risk of intimate partner femicide included perpetrator's access to a gun and previous threat with a weapon, perpetrator's stepchild in the home, and estrangement, especially from a controlling partner. Never living together and prior domestic violence arrest were associated with lowered risks. Significant incident factors included the victim having left for another partner and the perpetrator's use of a gun. Other significant bivariate-level risks included stalking, forced sex, and abuse during pregnancy. Conclusions. There are identifiable risk factors for intimate partner femicides.

Research examines the health consequences of domestic violence for African American women, focusing on enrollment statistics in HMOs. Findings suggest that abused women have more health problems during each medical visit and more emergency room visits than non-abused women.

Objectives: To compare costs associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) overall and for selected physical health problems in a non-poor, privately insured sample., Methods: We compared 185 women aged 21-55 who were physically and/or sexually abused between 1989 and 1997 and enrolled in a multisite metropolitan health maintenance organization (HMO) to 198 never abused women enrolled in the same plan who had been matched using propensity score stratification. Costs associated with HMO visits, hospital stays, referrals, and emergency room (ER) visits, prescriptions, and radiology are based on the Medicare Resource-Based Relative Value System, expressed in 2005 dollars., Results: Average health care costs for women who reported physical, sexual, and/or emotional abuse exceeded those of never abused women by $1,700 over the 3-year study period. Women who reported abuse within 12 months of interview had higher average costs, as did women who reported physical abuse; however, sexual or emotional abuse and previous abuse also elevated costs. Costs associated with neurologic symptoms, injuries, mental health care, and unclassified symptoms account for most of these differences., Conclusions: IPV elevates health care costs, not only among women currently experiencing abuse, but also among women for whom the abuse has ceased. Efforts to control health care costs should focus on early detection and prevention of IPV.