Recorded presentation

Tracy Evanson, PhD, APRN, BC, College of Nursing, University of North Dakota, P.O. Box 9025, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9025, (701)777-4559, tracyevanson@mail.und.nodak.edu

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence (DV) is a significant public health problem. Although health care providers in all disciplines and settings encounter victims of DV, there is minimal extant research related to the role of public health nurses (PHNs) in DV prevention and intervention. PURPOSE: This presentation will present findings that are part of a larger study which investigated the practice of home-visiting PHNs when working with families where DV was occurring. The presentation will describe the model of practice that the PHNs used when providing assistance to victims of DV. APPROACH: Descriptive phenomenology guided the research. PARTICIPANTS: 13 expert public health nurses providing home-visits to childbearing/childrearing families; 7 from rural areas of practice, 6 from non-rural. METHOD: Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant to elicit their experiences working with families where DV was occurring. Analysis was conducted using Dahlberg’s descriptive phenomenology approach. RESULTS: The essence of the PHNs’ practice with families where DV was occurring was that they worked to build a long-term, trusting relationship with the families. In relation to providing assistance to victims, the PHNs utilized strategies that incorporated three themes: 1) “Meet Them Where They Are At,” 2) “Accentuate the Positive,” and 3) “Hang in There with Them.” Each of these themes will be described in the presentation. CONCLUSION: This is the first study in the U.S. to describe the practice of home-visiting PHNs when providing assistance to victims of DV. The model of expert practice serves as an exemplar of PHN strategies necessary to work with victims of DV in the home-setting. The model of practice can be utilized to guide future education, research, and practice relating to PHN’s role in domestic violence prevention and intervention.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to

• state three themes of trust-building strategies utilized by expert PHNs when providing assistance to victims of domestic violence.
• describe a variety of strategies utilized by expert PHNs in each of the themes.
• articulate how the role of home-visiting PHNs is uniquely suited to providing assistance to victims of domestic violence.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Home Visiting

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation