Examining the Effectiveness of an Intimate Partner Violence Seminar on Screening for Healthcare Providers: A Practitioner-Researcher Partnership

Background: Intimate partner violence is a major public health concern that affects four to six million relationships each year in the United States. Victims of IPV experience devastating physical, emotional, relational and financial consequences, which often continue to affect them even after the abuse has stopped. Since healthcare professionals are often “the first-line response” for many people who experience IPV, it is vital to have education, policies and protocols in place so that they can identify and record incidents of IPV and assist victims with getting the services and support they need.

This study was conducted as part of a practitioner-researcher partnership to evaluate a seminar designed to teach healthcare providers how to sensitively and routinely screen for IPV, identify victims, and make proper referrals. Information gathered through this research provides insight into the effectiveness of this three-hour seminar, which is currently being conducted in New Jersey, Missouri, and Florida.

Methods:  Quantitative data was collected at three time points, a pretest (T1) prior to the start of the training, a posttest immediately following the training (T2) and a second posttest one month later (T3), using convenience sampling methods from participants who attended the three-hour in-person seminar (n=345) in the states of New Jersey (30.7%), Missouri (37.9%), and Florida (31.3%).  Overall, 64.8% of participants were employed as a nurse, 88.3% identified as female and their mean age was 43. 

The items used in the survey instrument were driven by the practitioner. The survey included questions about screening behaviors (4 items), professional efficacy working with victims of IPV (4 items), and attitudes and beliefs about victims of IPV (5 items).  Some items were asked at all three time points, while others were asked only at T1 and T3.  Paired sample t-tests were used on items that were asked twice and repeated measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) were used on items that were asked all three times. 

Results: Results found there was a statistically significant increase in participants’ behaviors surrounding IPV screening from T1 to T3 (p < .05) and increase in participants’ professional efficacy in working with victims of IPV on three out of four items (p < .001). There was also an increase in participants’ positive overall attitudes and beliefs on the dynamics of abuse and victims of abuse on all five items from T1 to T2 (p ≤ .001) and two of the five items from T1 to T3 (p ≤ .001). 

There was a statistically significant interaction between time and group on three of the five questions on overall attitudes and beliefs on the dynamics of abuse and victims of abuse items (p < .001).

Implications: This study provides basic evidence that the seminar has been successful in increasing screening behaviors and efficacy, as well as positive attitudes towards victims of IPV among healthcare providers.  Future research would include the use of more standardized measures to see if the results hold.