Thrive: A Novel Health Education Mobile Application for Mothers Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence

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.

Women’s Experiences of Safety Apps for Sexualized Violence: A Narrative Scoping Review

“…Security was found to be a prevalent theme across studies that in uenced women's experiences of using safety apps (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52). Speci c aspects of security that were discussed included privacy, judgement, and stigma.…”

“…All of the studies identi ed that using safety apps to obtain information provided more privacy or anonymity than obtaining information from in-person health services (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52). Using a safety app was also found to provide additional privacy because individuals could access them discreetly and apps were designed to be ambiguous to others (49,51,52). For example, using basic colours for the app's design so that it would not be recognized as a sexualized violence related app by another person who might see the individual's phone.…”

“…(51) Many participants mentioned the option of not having to discuss sexualized violence in a traditional way such as ''face-to-face'' as a bene t (46)(47)(48)(49)51 (48). Recommendations to address privacy concerns, some of which were already part of the apps studied, included providing password protection for the app (46,48,49,52), an emergency exit on each screen (47,52), use of an innocuous name for the app that does not refer to relationships or safety (46)(47)(48)(49)52), and even allowing the user to rename the program or change the icon themselves (47).…”

“…Accessibility included the ease and usefulness of the safety apps (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52). Women in all studies reported that they found the safety apps to be user friendly, easy to use, and easily accessible (46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52). In six studies, the usefulness of the app was directly related to the fact that it could be used anywhere, was comprehensive in content, and all the information needed was in one place (46-49, 51, 52).…”

“…Making the apps more personalized and interactive was recommended by women in ve studies (47)(48)(49)(50)52). Examples included providing written scripts to choose from (47,50,51) or the ability to connect directly with a counsellor through the app (48,49,52). Other recommendations included making the navigation functions standard across the app and clearly indicating the purpose of each icon (51).…”