Long-term public healthcare burden associated with intimate partner violence among Canadian women: A cohort study

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major global health issue, yet few studies explore its long-term public healthcare burden in countries with universal healthcare systems. This study analyzes this burden among Canadian women using data from the Neighborhood Effects on Health and Wellbeing survey and Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) records from 2009 to 2020. We employed inverse probability weighting with regression adjustment to estimate differences in cumulative costs and OHIP billings between those reporting exposure to IPV during the survey and those who did not. Our sample included 1,094 women, with 38.12 % reporting IPV exposure via the Hurt, Insult, Threaten, Scream scale. Findings show a significant public healthcare burden due to IPV: women reporting IPV in 2009 had an average of 17 % higher healthcare costs and 41 additional OHIP billings (0.1732;95 % CI: 0.0578–0.2886; 41.23;95 % CI: 12.63–69.82). Policies prioritizing primary prevention and integration of trauma-informed care among healthcare providers are vital to alleviate the long-term burden on public health systems.