hark_screen: HARK Screen for Intimate Partner Violence

In cliot: Clinical Indices and Outcomes Tools

HARK Screen for Intimate Partner Violence

Description

Calculates the HARK score, a brief 4-item screening tool designed to identify intimate partner violence (IPV) in clinical settings. The acronym stands for Humiliation, Afraid, Rape, and Kick. A score of 1 or greater indicates a positive screen.

Usage

hark_screen(humiliation, afraid, rape, kick)

Arguments

humiliation	Numeric (0 or 1). Within the last year, have you been humiliated or emotionally abused in other ways by your partner or your ex-partner? (1 = Yes).
afraid	Numeric (0 or 1). Within the last year, have you been afraid of your partner or ex-partner? (1 = Yes).
rape	Numeric (0 or 1). Within the last year, have you been raped or forced to have any kind of sexual activity by your partner or ex-partner? (1 = Yes).
kick	Numeric (0 or 1). Within the last year, have you been kicked, hit, slapped, or otherwise physically hurt by your partner or ex-partner? (1 = Yes).

Value

A list containing:

HARK_Score	The calculated total score (Range 0-4).
Screen_Result	"Positive Screen" (Score >= 1) or "Negative Screen".
Recommendation	Clinical guidance based on the result.

References

Sohal H, Eldridge S, Feder G. The sensitivity and specificity of four questions (HARK) to identify intimate partner violence: a diagnostic accuracy study in general practice. BMC Fam Pract. 2007;8:49. doi:10.1186/1471-2296-8-49

Examples

# Example 1: Positive Screen (Humiliation only)
# Score = 1
hark_screen(1, 0, 0, 0)

# Example 2: Positive Screen (Physical and Sexual violence)
# Score = 2
hark_screen(0, 0, 1, 1)

# Example 3: Negative Screen
# Score = 0
hark_screen(0, 0, 0, 0)

cliot documentation built on Dec. 1, 2025, 1:06 a.m.