Intimate partner violence intervention strategies in the dental setting: A scoping review

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence is a global issue. Dental settings are currently thought of as novel places for IPV support, with little known about the characteristics and effectiveness of current interventions. OBJECTIVES: This scoping review explores the characteristics and effectiveness of current IPV interventions in dental settings. METHODS: The initial search was completed in June 2023 and updated in February 2025. APAPsychINFO, CINAHL, Medline, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature for key search terms related to IPV interventions within the dental setting. Grey literature was located via searching HealthInfonet, Google, and Google Scholar. No constraints were applied on publication date. All included literature was reviewed and double screened using Covidence. Following the extraction of relevant information, a thematic synthesis approach was conducted, inspired by Bronfenbrenner's concepts of macrosystem (policy, legislation and culture), exosystem (clinical settings), mesosystem (interactions between dental and non-dental professionals), and microsystem (interactions between staff and patients) to analyze and present the study findings. RESULTS: Twenty-three literature sources were included following removal of duplicates and screening of title and abstract and then full text. Of the 23 included literature sources18 were peer-reviewed empirical sources, and 5 were grey literature. IPV interventions were mostly implemented at a macrosystem and mesosystem level; they were in the form of information resources, educational and training programs, and integrated care models. Microsystem interventions received the least attention and were focused on visual resources available to raise awareness of dental practices as a safe place to disclose IPV. Results indicated that evaluated IPV training interventions in dental settings returned positive outcomes in enhancing dental service staff's knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability of IPV screening in dental settings. The feasibility of implementing training interventions for dental practice staff was also positive. CONCLUSIONS: There are positive outcomes from IPV interventions that have been implemented and evaluated in dental practice settings. However, the rigor, transferability, and sustainability of the interventions across all types of dental settings require further exploration.