Women's Evaluation of a randomised controlled trial for Abuse and Violence in General Practice

Funded Activity Summary

Domestic violence or intimate partner abuse (physical, emotional or sexual) is a common hidden problem for women attending general practice. It has major emotional and physical consequences for abused women of child bearing age and as a result they use medical services more frequently than non abused women. Doctors are often the first professional person that abused women tell and women report that doctors who have good communication skills encourage disclosure. This study will evaluate a brief counselling intervention for abused women in general practice using a randomised controlled trial. General practice staff (general practitioners and-or practice nurses) will be randomised either to be intensively trained to deliver the intervention and their practice systems improved for care of abused women or to be given information to ensure minimum safe practice and deliver 'usual care' to abused women. The primary aim of the intervention is to increase abused women's safety behaviours and planning and improve their mental health and quality of life. Secondary aims include increasing their readiness for change and action with regard to abuse, and their comfort to discuss abuse with general practitioners-practice nurses and general practitioners-practice nurses inquiry about safety. It is not expected that in a twelve month period that any intervention with women will be able to decrease the abuse women experience as women cannot control their partners' behaviour and to leave is not necessarily going to end the violence and abuse. Rather, the intervention and outcomes will look at women's pathway and decision making around seeking safety and non-violence. A cost effective analysis will also be undertaken using health service use by women and costs of the intervention.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $679,718.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Primary Health Care

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Clinical trial | Domestic violence | General practice | Intervention study | Patient related health outcome | Primary health care | Psychological distress | Risk assessment | Secondary prevention | Women's mental health

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