PROTOCOL: Informal social support interventions for improving outcomes for victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse: An evidence and gap map.
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SUBMITTER: Schucan Bird KL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9246292 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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PROTOCOL: Informal social support interventions for improving outcomes for victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse: An evidence and gap map.
Schucan Bird Karen L KL Stokes Nicola N Rivas Carol C Tomlinson Martha M
Campbell systematic reviews 20220630 3
This is the protocol for a Campbell Evidence Gap Map. The main objectives of the EGM are: establish the nature and extent of the primary empirical evidence on informal social support interventions, identify interventions and clusters of evidence suitable for systematic review/evidence synthesis and identify gaps in the evidence on informal social support interventions. ...[more]
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Project description:This is the protocol for a evidence and gap map. The objectives are as follows: to identify existing research and gaps in evidence according to the types of interventions, settings, study design and outcomes; to use the EGM findings to inform subsequent systematic reviews and to identify gaps in evidence to inform future research, policy or practice.
| S-EPMC9979188 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A 'shadow pandemic' of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) has emerged secondary to strict public health measures containing the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Many countries have implemented policies to allow the free movement of DVA survivors in attempts to minimise their exposure to abusive environments. Although these policies are well received, as a result there is a possibility of increased COVID-19 transmission within this vulnerable group who are not currently prioritised for vaccination. Therefore, we aimed to compare the risk of developing suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in women (aged over 16 years) exposed to DVA against age-sex-matched unexposed controls, following adjustment for known COVID-19 risk factors. A population-based retrospective open cohort study was undertaken between the 31 January 2020 and 28 February 2021 using 'The Health Improvement Network' database. We identified 10,462 eligible women exposed to DVA who were matched to 41,467 similarly aged unexposed women. Following adjustment for key covariates, women exposed to DVA were at an increased risk (aHR 1.57; 95% CI 1.29-1.90) of suspected/confirmed COVID-19 compared to unexposed women. These findings support previous calls for positive policy action improving DVA surveillance and prioritising survivors for COVID-19 vaccination.
| S-EPMC8460316 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe police attend numerous domestic violence events each year, recording details of these events as both structured (coded) data and unstructured free-text narratives. Abuse types (including physical, psychological, emotional, and financial) conducted by persons of interest (POIs) along with any injuries sustained by victims are typically recorded in long descriptive narratives.ObjectiveWe aimed to determine if an automated text mining method could identify abuse types and any injuries sustained by domestic violence victims in narratives contained in a large police dataset from the New South Wales Police Force.MethodsWe used a training set of 200 recorded domestic violence events to design a knowledge-driven approach based on syntactical patterns in the text and then applied this approach to a large set of police reports.ResultsTesting our approach on an evaluation set of 100 domestic violence events provided precision values of 90.2% and 85.0% for abuse type and victim injuries, respectively. In a set of 492,393 domestic violence reports, we found 71.32% (351,178) of events with mentions of the abuse type(s) and more than one-third (177,117 events; 35.97%) contained victim injuries. "Emotional/verbal abuse" (33.46%; 117,488) was the most common abuse type, followed by "punching" (86,322 events; 24.58%) and "property damage" (22.27%; 78,203 events). "Bruising" was the most common form of injury sustained (51,455 events; 29.03%), with "cut/abrasion" (28.93%; 51,284 events) and "red marks/signs" (23.71%; 42,038 events) ranking second and third, respectively.ConclusionsThe results suggest that text mining can automatically extract information from police-recorded domestic violence events that can support further public health research into domestic violence, such as examining the relationship of abuse types with victim injuries and of gender and abuse types with risk escalation for victims of domestic violence. Potential also exists for this extracted information to be linked to information on the mental health status.
| S-EPMC6434398 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Three quarters of all violence against women is perpetrated by domestic partners. This study exploits exogenous changes in the demand for labor in female-dominated industries to estimate the impact of the male-female wage gap on domestic violence. Decreases in the wage gap reduce violence against women, consistent with a household bargaining model. These findings shed new light on the health production process as well as observed income gradients in health and suggest that in addition to addressing concerns of equity and efficiency, pay parity can also improve the health of American women via reductions in violence.
| S-EPMC4123456 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Secondary trauma arises through indirect exposure to trauma through engaging with first-hand accounts and narratives of traumatic events. While a significant amount of research has explored secondary trauma experienced by professionals who work with survivors of trauma, such as clinicians and front-line service providers, there is little research exploring the experiences of secondary trauma among violence researchers who routinely engage with traumatic first-hand accounts through their work. This study qualitatively explored violence researcher's professional experiences of secondary trauma and their perceptions of what enables and constrains their own coping and resilience. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online with seven female violence researchers from the United Kingdom. Questions explored participant's experiences of secondary trauma symptoms related to their research, perceptions of their own coping and resilience, and experiences of organizational support that have enabled or constrained their resilience. Data were analyzed thematically using a coding framework applied reflexively across interview transcripts. All participants reported experiencing symptoms of secondary trauma from their work including cognitive disturbances; altered beliefs of themselves, others or the world; and challenges connecting with others. Participants' assessment of their own expertise in violence research did not generally impact their perception of their own resilience. Organizational support for violence researchers was rarely provided and participants felt generally unsupported-left to manage any resultant distress alone. Research organizations and universities should implement trauma-informed policies which positively transform workplace culture, provide peer support spaces, and conduct effective training in order to mitigate psychological harm and promote resilience among violence researchers. Support should be tailored to the requirements of violence researchers, and institutions should develop policies that are specifically attentive to the needs of researchers who also have lived experience of violence and abuse.
| S-EPMC10858617 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Exposure of children to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is a form of child maltreatment with short- and long-term behavioural and mental health impact. Health care professionals are generally uncertain about how to respond to domestic violence and are particularly unclear about best practice with regards to children's exposure and their role in a multiagency response. In this systematic review, we report educational and structural or whole-system interventions that aim to improve professionals' understanding of, and response to, DVA survivors and their children. We searched 22 bibliographic databases and contacted topic experts for studies reporting quantitative outcomes for any type of intervention aiming to improve professional responses to disclosure of DVA with child involvement. We included interventions for physicians, nurses, social workers and teachers. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria: three randomised controlled trials (RCTs), 18 pre-post intervention surveys. There were 18 training and three system-level interventions. Training interventions generally had positive effects on participants' knowledge, attitudes towards DVA and clinical competence. The results from the RCTs were consistent with the before-after surveys. Results from system-level interventions aimed to change organisational practice and inter-organisational collaboration demonstrates the benefit of coordinating system change in child welfare agencies with primary health care and other organisations. Implications for policy and research are discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Child Abuse Review published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 'We searched 22 bibliographic databases and contacted topic experts'.Key practitioner messagesWe reviewed published evidence on interventions aimed at improving professionals' practice with domestic violence survivors and their children.Training programmes were found to improve participants' knowledge, attitudes and clinical competence up to a year after delivery.Key elements of successful training include interactive discussion, booster sessions and involving specialist domestic violence practitioners.Whole-system approaches aiming to promote coordination and collaboration across agencies appear promising but require funding and high levels of commitment from partners. 'Training programmes were found to improve participants' knowledge, attitudes and clinical competence up to a year after delivery'.
| S-EPMC5363379 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The role of empathy and perspective-taking in preventing aggressive behaviors has been highlighted in several theoretical models. In this study, we used immersive virtual reality to induce a full body ownership illusion that allows offenders to be in the body of a victim of domestic abuse. A group of male domestic violence offenders and a control group without a history of violence experienced a virtual scene of abuse in first-person perspective. During the virtual encounter, the participants' real bodies were replaced with a life-sized virtual female body that moved synchronously with their own real movements. Participants' emotion recognition skills were assessed before and after the virtual experience. Our results revealed that offenders have a significantly lower ability to recognize fear in female faces compared to controls, with a bias towards classifying fearful faces as happy. After being embodied in a female victim, offenders improved their ability to recognize fearful female faces and reduced their bias towards recognizing fearful faces as happy. For the first time, we demonstrate that changing the perspective of an aggressive population through immersive virtual reality can modify socio-perceptual processes such as emotion recognition, thought to underlie this specific form of aggressive behaviors.
| S-EPMC5807352 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundMore than half of the children in the world experience some form of interpersonal violence every year. As compared with high-income countries, policy responses in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are limited due to resource constraints and paucity of evidence for effective interventions to reduce violence against children in their own contexts, amongst other factors.ObjectivesThe aim of this evidence and gap map (EGM) is to provide an overview of the existing evidence available and to identify gaps in the evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce violence against children in LMICs. This report covers evidence published in English; a follow-up study is under preparation focusing on evidence in five additional languages-Arabic, Chinese, French, Portuguese and Spanish.MethodsThe intervention-outcome framework for this EGM is based on INSPIRE-Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children, published by WHO and other partners in 2016. The seven strategies include implementation and enforcement of laws; norms and values, safe environment; parent-child and caregiver support; income and economic strengthening; response and support services; education and life skills. The search included both academic and grey literature available online. We included impact evaluations and systematic reviews that assessed the effectiveness of interventions to reduce interpersonal violence against children (0-18 years) in LMICs (World Bank, 2018b). Interventions targeting subpopulation of parents, teachers and caregivers of 0-18 years' age group were also included. A critical appraisal of all included studies was carried out using standardised tools.ResultsThe map includes 152 studies published in English of which 55 are systematic reviews and 97 are impact evaluations. Most studies in the map are from Sub-Saharan Africa. Education and life skills are the most widely populated intervention area of the map followed by income and economic strengthening interventions. Very few studies measure impact on economic and social outcomes, and few conduct cost-analysis.ConclusionMore studies focusing on low-income and fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCS) and studying and reporting on cost-analysis are required to address gaps in the evidence. Most interventions covered in the literature focused on addressing a wide range of forms of violence and harm, which limited understanding of how and for whom the interventions work in a given context, for specific forms of violence. More impact evaluation studies are required that assess specific forms of violence, gendered effects of interventions and on diverse social groups in a given context, utilising mixed methods.
| S-EPMC8356324 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious public health issue that consists of physical, sexual, and psychological violence perpetrated by a current or former partner. Informal supporters (e.g., family and friends) of survivors are more often witness to IPV or are the first people a survivor will disclose abuse to and are more able to provide consistent ongoing support than professional services. Therefore, greater understanding of informal supporters is warranted to aid in reducing the risks experienced by survivors. This systematic review aimed to: (1) identify factors associated with either an increase or decrease in helping behaviour toward a survivor, (2), identify the most effective self-care strategies employed by informal supporters, and (3) consider the current theoretical approaches used to understand informal supporters help-giving behavioural intention.MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The search included English language articles published between 2005 and 2021 in the databases Psych Articles, Scopus, Proquest Social Services Abstracts, and Ebscohost. Studies were included if the primary research aims explored the motivators and inhibitors of helping intention or self-care strategies of adult social network members of adult IPV survivors. Two reviewers independently screened all identified articles for inclusion suitability.ResultsOne hundred and twenty articles were subjected to full text screening resulting in 31 articles being identified as meeting inclusion criteria. Synthesis of the findings identified the following three key areas associated with help-giving behavioural intentions: normative factors, individual factors, and situational factors. There were no articles identified that considered self-care of informal supporters. Of the 31 articles, 22 had a theoretical underpinning. None of the utilised theories explained all three of the identified factors of help-giving behavioural intention.ConclusionThese results are integrated into a proposed Intimate Partner Violence Model of Informal Supporter Readiness (IPV-MISR), incorporating the identified factors associated with help-giving behavioural intention. This model provides a framework for conceptualising the readiness of an informal supporter to provide adequate support to IPV survivors. The model extends existing theoretical standpoints and has utility in both practice and research.
| S-EPMC10178208 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHealthcare professionals (HCPs) are expected to identify and respond to domestic abuse (DA) among their patients. Although research suggests that a high proportion of HCPs are affected by DA, the impact of their experiences has been under-researched.AimsTo assess UK HCPs' experiences of DA and develop a broad understanding of its impact on work and HCPs' support needs.MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey was promoted via multiple professional channels (October to December 2022). We adopted convenience sampling and analysed data descriptively.ResultsAmong the 192 HCP survivors who responded, all abuse subtypes-psychological, sexual, economic and physical-were common. Ninety per cent of abusers were male (ex)partners. Eighty-five per cent reported abusers directly interfered with their work and 92% reported their work and career were affected. Almost all reported physical and mental health consequences. Eighty-nine per cent reported their own experiences shaped their responses to patient survivors. On average, per year, HCP survivors reported they had 13 sick days, 5 days' leave, 10 days' lateness and 6 days' early departure due to DA. Only 20% reported their workplace had a staff DA policy, and over 50% were unsure what workplace support mechanisms were available. Just over half disclosed at work; concerns that others would question their fitness to practice were common. Twenty-two per cent reported aspects of work, for example, long hours, stopped them from seeking support outside work.ConclusionsHCPs face unique barriers to DA disclosure and support-seeking and may benefit from tailored support from specialists who understand both DA and the healthcare context.
| S-EPMC11444377 | biostudies-literature