Computer detects domestic abuse before doctors

Submitted by anthony on Wed, 2009-09-30 23:30

Article here. Excerpt:

'Victims of domestic abuse can hide the truth from doctors, but they leave clues in their medical records that a computer program has now learned to follow.

The program could save lives by acting as an early warning system for domestic violence, flagging up possible cases of abuse to doctors months or even years before they would otherwise be detected.

The program produced a set of rules based on the differences it found. These were mainly based on patterns of injuries and bouts of mental illness – signs of abuse that doctors already look for.

But the program also found new clues, including some that pick out victims of one sex but not the other. Alcoholism, for instance, is a red flag for abuse in women, but not men, because it is less common among women in general. In contrast, depression and other mood disorders are a strong predictor of abuse in men, but less so for women.'

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Comments

The caution here is an innate ability of the medical community to follow guidelines as gospel. Can you imagine some poor person, whether it be male or female that gets harrassed by a doctor that doesn't listen to his patients? I turned in an abused little girl when I was in the military. Her parents were neigbors of mine on base housing. When I went in carrying the child I saked for some assistance and told them it was a case of abuse. They grabbed the girl, she started screaming, and one of them tried to grab me. I raised my voice, explained my position and reached for the girl as she was stretching her arms out to me and crying.It caused an intervention. The point is we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions. It wouldn't be bad if people were seeking help and were given this information, education is a wonderful thing, and it is also power.

David A. DeLong

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Submitted by David A. DeLong on Thu, 2009-10-01 14:41

'nuff said.

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Submitted by mcc99 on Thu, 2009-10-01 17:19