{"doi":"10.1002/jdd.70013","title":"From Awareness to Action: Are Dental Professionals Ready to Respond to Intimate Partner Violence? An Innovative Training Approach","abstract":"Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive public health issue with profound consequences for both oral and overall health [1, 2]. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends IPV screening of women of reproductive age, including those who are pregnant or postpartum [3]. Dentists are uniquely positioned to identify IPV given their routine examination of orofacial structures. However, a national survey of ∼2000 dentists found that 93% did not inquire about IPV during routine dental visits, citing limited time, insufficient training, and the belief that IPV screening lies outside their professional scope [4]. This gap reflects a broader deficiency in dental education. While some dental schools have introduced IPV content in their curricula, comprehensive training in IPV case management remains rare. Effective response requires more than identification—it involves clinical awareness, trauma-informed communication, familiarity with referral pathways, and understanding of legal and ethical responsibilities. Without this training, dental providers may feel unprepared to act, resulting in missed opportunities to support patients. This paper presents findings from an innovative IPV workshop, delivered at the 2025 National Oral Health Conference (NOHC). We designed and implemented a three-and-a-half-hour workshop titled “Recognize, Respond, Refer: A Domestic Violence Workshop for Dental Professionals”. To our knowledge, this was the first IPV-focused workshop at the NOHC. The training aimed to strengthen participants’ understanding of IPV definitions, prevalence, clinical indicators, case management strategies, and available resources. It also covered appropriate responses following a positive IPV screening, including trauma-informed communication, legal and regulatory considerations, safety planning, and referral protocols. The workshop featured four 20-min slide presentations, three interactive case-based scenarios, evidence-informed strategies, Q&A sessions, and facilitated discussions to reinforce learning objectives. To assess changes in knowledge and preparedness, participants completed pre- and post-workshop surveys evaluating prior IPV-related training and confidence in IPV case management. Fourteen participants attended the workshop, and 11 completed both surveys. Participant characteristics are summarized in Table 1. The pre-workshop survey showed none of the participants had prior IPV case management training. Post-workshop results showed a statistically significant increase (p < 0.01) in confidence regarding managing IPV disclosures (Figure 1A) and identifying signs of IPV (Figure 1B) in their practice. In addition, 9 (82%) participants indicated they were “very likely” to incorporate IPV screening or discussions into their clinical practice (Figure 2). These findings suggest that the workshop improved participants’ preparedness and willingness to practice IPV case management in their clinical settings. Despite positive feedback and measurable knowledge gains, limitations included the small sample size and lack of long-term follow-up. A follow-up manuscript will report participants’ long-term knowledge retention and provide a more comprehensive description of the workshop. These results underscore a gap in IPV case management knowledge aligned with previous research [5]. Dental curricula should include comprehensive IPV case management training and practical skills in screening, trauma-informed communication, legal and ethical responsibilities, and referral protocols. Without a solid foundation, dental providers may feel unprepared to intervene. Integrating this training into dental education is essential to closing gaps and advancing equitable care quality in healthcare. We appreciate the contribution of the workshop participants at the 2025 NOHC. Their insights helped enrich the discussion and shape the outcomes of this work. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.","journal":"Journal of Dental Education","year":2025,"id":573437,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":0,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9662,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1480649,"name":"Barbara Clyburn","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1480210,"name":"Mona Abdelrehim","orcid":"0000-0001-8952-1766","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1480211,"name":"Shakiba Ghasemi Assl","orcid":"0000-0002-9930-114X","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1480212,"name":"Sonica Singhal","orcid":"0000-0002-9233-9348","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":794194,"name":"Sepideh Banava","orcid":"0000-0002-8271-9902","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":5,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:57:32.445190Z","pmid":"40859685","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}