A force field analysis: Front line workers as critical actors in family violence prevention programming

Social problem: Family violence is a pervasive social problem which negatively affects individuals, families, and communities across all ages and stages of life. This problem is complicated by difficulty in reaching individuals experiencing violence. Thus, prevention is critical for reducing mortality and morbidity rates related to family violence. Method: This study applied a force field analysis to uncover the factors that influenced the application of research to practice among a sample front-line violence prevention workers. Participates completed a two-stage, qualitative interview process. Factors were identified and then coded using a categorical analysis, predictive analytic software analysis, and affinity process to determine which factors had the most influence. Next, participants rated factors for feasibility of change. Impact/Feasibility charts were developed to create action steps for future change. Outcomes: Final action steps for this research are important to developing future programs; however, one action step is important for future research. Specifically, participants almost unanimously requested the involvement of prevention practitioners during the beginning stages of future research. Implications for Researchers and Health Workers: This unique study design employed principals of community action research, assuming that the community of health workers was a critical voice in improving prevention programming. This assumption was supported in the outcome of this research and has important implications for future evaluation and research development. Implementing this type of research design in evaluation studies might dramatically transform the outcome of evaluation research and increase buy-in of prevention workers.