Domestic Violence and Pregnancy: A Community-Based Participatory Research Coalition Approach to Identifying Needs and Informing Policy

• A community-partnered approach allowed the Hattiesburg Area Health Coalition, under the Gulf States Health Policy Center, to collect data at the community level to identify specific policies that could be improved regarding infant and maternal health. • The Southeast Mississippi Rural Health Initiative will now screen all pregnant patients for domestic violence and have an official policy for providing information and referrals on the issue. • The policy change will be evaluated by the number of materials developed and distributed by the coalition, and by the number of expecting mothers screened for domestic violence at prenatal visits.