173997 Effective Services for Partner and Sexual Assault Survivors: Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Agency Directors' Perspectives

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Natalie Johns, BS , School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Rebecca J. Macy, PhD, LCSW, ACSW , School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Sandra L. Martin, PhD , Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Background: Domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) services (e.g., advocacy, shelter) aim to improve women's health and safety. However, little evidence exists to guide effective service delivery. A survey of North Carolina (NC) directors of DV and SA agencies was conducted to address this knowledge gap. Directors represent a rich resource regarding which services work well in their communities. However, there is little systematic research about DV and SA services from directors' perspectives.

Objectives: 1) To identify— based on directors' opinions— what services are most effective for survivors; 2) To investigate to what extent directors' opinions about efficacious service delivery practices differ based on their characteristics (e.g., education, service focus, years of experience).

Methods: The survey questions included opened-ended and likert-scale items; questions were developed from an extensive literature review and in-depth interviews with directors (n=12). All NC directors (n=103) were invited to participate in the survey, and 94% (n=97) responded.

Results: Descriptive analyzes were used to summarize directors' opinions about effective service delivery practices. ANOVA analyzes were used to investigate how directors' opinions differed based on their characteristics. Although there was notable director consensus about efficacious services, there were also significant differences based on their characteristics.

Conclusions: Because of the pervasiveness of partner and sexual violence, the dearth of information to help guide services poses a troubling challenge for health and human service providers. Although replication with larger, geographically diverse samples is needed, this research takes a first step toward the development of evidence-based service guidelines.

Learning Objectives:
1) By the end of the session, participants will be able to describe domestic violence and sexual assault service delivery practices considered to be effective based on findings from a survey of North Carolina domestic violence and sexual assault agency directors. 2) By the end of the session, participants will be able to use evidence-based domestic violence and sexual assault service guidelines that were developed from a survey of North Carolina domestic violence and sexual assault agency directors to inform their own public health work.

Keywords: Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Master’s Degree in Public Health, expected May 2008 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Concentration: Maternal and Child Health Master’s Degree in Social Work, expected May 2008 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Concentration: Macro/Community Practice Field of Practice: Health/Mental Health “MOVE” program evaluation January 2008 – present Field Internship •Working as a member of an inter-organizational team to evaluate a program for women and children impacted by domestic violence •Engaging in advisory board development, focus group research, literature review, program evaluation, monitoring, and planning Laboratory of Dr. Rebecca Macy, University of North Carolina September 2006 – present Research Assistant •Working as a research team member to develop and conduct assessments on the best practices for domestic violence and sexual assault services in North Carolina and outcome measures for domestic violence and sexual assault services •Engaging in web-based survey design, data collection, and literature review In Preparation Macy, R. J., Johns, N., Martin, S., Giattina, M., & Crosby, C. (2007). Domestic violence and sexual assault agency directors’ opinions about efficacious service delivery practices: A statewide survey. Macy, R. J., Johns, N., Martin, S., Giattina, M., & Crosby, C. (2007). The goals of domestic violence and sexual assault services: A statewide survey of agency directors. Under Review Macy, R. J., Giattina, M., Sangster, T. H., Crosby, C., & Johns, N. (2007). Domestic violence and sexual assault services: Inside the blackbox.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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