277338
Developing and pilot-testing assessment and outcome evaluation instruments for community-based domestic violence and sexual assault programs: Findings from North Carolina
Sandra L. Martin, PhD
,
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Rebecca J Macy, MSW, PhD
,
School of Social Work, Chapel Hill, NC
McLean D. Pollock, MSW, MPH, LCSW
,
Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Chapel Hill, NC
Kathleen S Kenny, MPH
,
Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Introduction: Community-based Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault (DV/SA) programs exist nationwide, with 100 in North Carolina (NC). NC DV/SA programs serve over 75,000 persons annually, with many DV/SA survivors receiving longer-term services (shelter, individual/group counseling). Although DV/SA survivors have many needs (health, etc.), there are no standardized assessment instruments/procedures used by all DV/SA programs to: identify needs of survivors entering longer-term services (so appropriate wrap-around services/referrals may be put into place); and re-assess survivors at service-end to determine how well needs were met (service effectiveness). The goal of this 4-year collaboration with NC DV/SA survivors and programs was to develop/pilot-test standardized assessment instruments/procedures to address this service gap. Methods: To identify topics for the instruments, focus groups were conducted with NC DV/SA survivors and all NC DV/SA programs were surveyed (77% responded). Using these findings, instruments were drafted to assess survivors' goals, violence/legal experiences, safety, physical/emotional health, substance use, coping, and social support. Staff at 4 NC DV/SA programs piloted the instruments with survivors to assess feasibility/usefulness. Survivors' instrument responses also were analyzed. Results: The instruments: were acceptable to survivors; took 15-minutes to administer; were feasible to use; and identified important issues that staff could help survivors address. Analysis of survivors' instrument responses at service-entry showed that most survivors experienced high levels of violence, had high levels of physical/emotional health/substance abuse symptoms, and had low levels of coping and social support. All these improved significantly after DV/SA services. Conclusion: Standardized assessment procedures can be very useful to DV/SA programs and survivors.
Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Other professions or practice related to public health
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the procedures used to design and pilot-test assessment instruments for use in community-based domestic violence/sexual assault programs and the results of these procedures.
Keywords: Violence, Assessments
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: My academic research, teaching and service activities focus on violence in the lives of women, including domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. One of my interests includes community-based domestics violence and sexual assault programs.
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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