This study systematically reviews literature on U.S. police responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) to identify how police actions were measured, types of police interventions, and consequences of police responses. A comprehensive keyword search was conducted across 12 databases to identify relevant studies. It used predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria aligned with PRISMA-P guidelines. Ultimately, 16 articles were coded according to a pre-developed coding scheme. It finds that 43.7% of the studies investigated the impact of police responses on IPV victims or offenders, while 31.0% aimed to identify the factors associated with those responses. When police responses were used as an independent variable, the most commonly measured interventions included whether the incident was reported to the police and whether arrests were made (62.5%). Victim-related variables, such as leaving an abusive partner, mental health status, repeat victimization, and perceived safety, were frequently examined in relation to police responses. Notably, only 37.5% of the studies provided policy implications, which often focused on recommending additional training or educational programs for law enforcement professionals. This review advances the IPV literature by examining pre-COVID-19 research on police responses, emphasizing theoretical grounding, outcome diversity, and policy relevance. It outlines directions for evidence-based policing research.

While a growing body of research has emphasized the role of state-granted legitimacy in shaping public acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), less is known about why public views of CAM may remain heterogeneous even when it receives official endorsement. We address this question by highlighting the importance of user experience, using Chinese mainland as a case study. Chinese medicine (CM) is a well-known form of CAM that is deeply embedded in China’s healthcare system, supported by extensive infrastructure and strong policy backing. Drawing on in-depth interviews about people’s use of CM for self-treatment and rehabilitation after COVID-19, we find that “lived efficacy”, a subjective evaluation of effectiveness grounded in personal experience, plays a salient role in health-related decision-making. Individuals with positive prior experiences of CM tend to rely less on external information and often differentiate among various forms of CM, including state-endorsed products and folk practices. By contrast, those without such lived efficacy are more likely to adopt state-endorsed CM remedies based on trusted health information sources, such as government messaging. This study contributes to the literature by showing that the effects of state-granted legitimacy and institutional trust on CAM adoption are conditional and mediated by a multidimensional decision-making process. Lived efficacy and information trust constitute two key mechanisms through which respondents interpret the efficacy-based legitimacy of CM.