No abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has well-documented adverse impact on survivors and their children. In this article, we describe the development and formative evaluation of a trauma-informed, user-friendly Smartphone-based mobile application (app) to address the unmet health needs and improve the well-being of mothers who have experienced IPV. A multidisciplinary team of IPV experts developed the app (called Thrive) in partnership with software developers. Thrive includes three sections: Myself (maternal self-care, stress coping skills), My Child (stress signs in children, talking to children about IPV, mother–child dyadic communication), and My Life (hospital- and community-based resources). Sixteen providers (social workers, IPV advocates, and health care providers) and eight IPV survivors provided feedback about Thrive via structured interviews. Participants found Thrive to be user-friendly, informative, trauma-informed, and a potential alternative to handouts. Participants had several recommendations including allowing users to add their own content and providing social support mechanisms. Initial feedback sessions have demonstrated preliminary acceptability of one of the first health education apps for mothers who have experienced IPV. Next steps include revising Thrive based on user feedback, testing Thrive via a longitudinal outcome evaluation, and working with hospital and community-based partners to disseminate Thrive to IPV survivors around the country.

Relatively few studies have considered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intimate partner violence (IPV) advocates or the agencies where they work. In this study, based on United States IPV advocates’ experiences working with survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted interviews to explore: 1) personal challenges and resilience working as IPV advocates during the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) how agencies adapted to the pandemic to support IPV survivors and advocates; and 3) specific needs and challenges of culturally-specific agencies. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 53 IPV advocates from June to November 2020. Participants were included if they worked directly with survivors, identified as an IPV advocate, worked at a US-based agency, and spoke and understood English. We created a sampling matrix to ensure adequate representation from IPV advocates serving survivors from communities which have been marginalized. Interviews were conducted through a virtual platform by a trained member of the research team. We used an inductive thematic analysis approach, with weekly coding meetings to resolve discrepancies in coding. Five themes emerged from the data: 1) IPV advocates described how working as an IPV advocate during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them personally; 2) agencies developed new methods of addressing IPV advocates’ needs; 3) agencies developed new solutions to address pandemic-related client needs; 4) transitioning advocacy work to virtual formats created challenges but also opportunities and; 5) pandemic limitations and impacts compounded pre-pandemic challenges for culturally specific agencies. IPV advocates are frontline workers who have played essential roles in adjusting services to meet survivor needs during the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously coping with pandemic impacts on themselves and their agencies. Developing inter-agency collaborations and promoting advocates’ safety and wellbeing during future public health crises will help support IPV survivors.

We used qualitative methodologies to understand perceptions regarding options available for victims of physical intimate partner violence (IPV) in northern India. We interviewed male and female community members along with IPV experts. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using grounded theory. Participants emphasized that a victim of physical IPV should bear the violence, modify her husband's behaviors, or seek help from her natal family. Accessing external resources such as the police or nongovernmental organizations was viewed as both socially inappropriate and infeasible. These results have widespread implications and lay the foundation for the development of IPV prevention initiatives in India.