Health After Surviving Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Women, Adolescents, and Staff

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has physical, psychological, and developmental health effects on women and their children. Few studies have explored IPV survivors’ perspectives about their health and the health of their children, obstacles to accessing and utilizing healthcare after separating from abusive partners, and which health interventions would best serve their family’s needs. We facilitated ten focus groups at a transitional housing center; five with women IPV survivors and five with their adolescent children. Three interviews with center employees were also conducted. Data were analyzed for recurring themes with input from content experts. Women described their health and the health of their children as poor, stating their families suffered from depression, behavioral difficulties, and stress. Staff agreed, but also described unmet physical and sexual health needs. Women and staff felt these health morbidities were directly related to the violence they suffered. In contrast, teenagers perceived themselves to be healthy, associating any health problems as being related to their age rather than past trauma. Women also described challenges with healthcare utilization due to financial insecurity and mistrust of healthcare providers. Participants requested health programming focused on improving health education, accessing community resources, and building social networks. Our findings suggest that women IPV survivors feel motivated but disempowered, making it challenging for them to improve the health of their families. Using the results of this study, we are currently implementing and evaluating a health education curriculum for women and children living at the housing center.