International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health issue that produces significant psychological and physiological consequences. This exploratory descriptive study examines whether sustaining a serious injury increases the likelihood that IPV survivors experience emotional and physical symptoms. We analyzed nonfatal violence by an intimate partner reported in the U.S. National Crime Victimization Survey (2009–2023) and applied survey-adjusted logistic regression models. We assessed two dichotomous outcomes: (1) whether respondents reported at least one emotional symptom (e.g., vulnerable, violated, distrustful, or unsafe) and (2) whether they reported at least one physical symptom (e.g., headaches, fatigue, or muscle tension). We define serious injury as broken bones, gunshot wounds, internal injuries, or loss of consciousness. We included demographic characteristics (age, race, sex, and educational attainment) as control variables. The results show that IPV survivors who sustained serious injuries had significantly higher odds of reporting both emotional and physical symptoms than those who did not sustain such injuries. These findings underscore how serious injury compounds the burden of IPV and emphasize the need for comprehensive medical, legal, and psychosocial interventions to address its lasting health impacts.

Background: Ageing leads to physical, cognitive, and social changes that affect people’s functioning and social participation. Health literacy, sociodemographic, and environmental factors influence health outcomes and access to care. This study aimed to characterize the health and functioning of Portuguese adults aged 65 and over, focusing on sociodemographic factors, health status, lifestyle, fall risk, functional capacity, and social participation, and on comparing rural and urban populations. Materials and Methods: An exploratory, cross-sectional study was conducted using data from older adults who completed the FallSensing screening protocol. Participants were classified by residence type (rural vs. urban), and group comparisons were made. Results: The sample (n = 474) was predominantly female (66.5%) with a mean age of 74.62 (±6.49) years. Rural participants were older (76.87 ± 6.89 vs. 73.50 ± 5.87) and had higher body mass index (BMI) (28.32 ± 4.31 vs. 27.51 ± 4.12), lower educational attainment—for example, 22.9% had no formal education compared to 7.0% of urban participants—and a higher prevalence of hypertension (72.6% vs. 55.4%), whereas urban participants experienced higher rates of osteoporosis (24.4% vs. 14.3%), hearing loss (41.9% vs. 26.9%), and alcohol consumption (12.7% vs. 2.3%) (p ≤ 0.05). Rural residents also demonstrated significantly poorer results for grip strength (21.03 ± 7.36 vs. 23.73 ± 8.61), gait speed (1.17 ± 0.44 vs. 1.45 ± 0.39), and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test (13.4 ± 10.40 vs. 9.62 ± 4.43), as well as lower exercise self-efficacy (12.83 ± 4.97 vs. 14.28 ± 4.40) (p < 0.001), and more pronounced moderate-to-severe restrictions in social participation (28.0% vs. 15.7%) (p = 0.013). They reported greater use of assistive devices and more severe limitations in social participation. Although falls were reported more often in urban areas, rural residents experienced greater fall frequency. Conclusions: These findings suggest that rural living is associated with lower functional capacity and poorer health, underscoring the need for targeted physiotherapy and primary care strategies in rural settings.

Globally, the population is aging, representing one of the most significant societal transformations of our time [...]