EXTERNALLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Safety and health after arrival: Identifying and responding to domestic violence experienced by refugee and migrant women recently arrived in Australia
Background
Refugee and other migrant women are at higher risk of domestic violence, which has serious impacts and costs to community. A first for settlement programs, the study aims to test a model of care for identifying and responding to domestic violence with refugee women. Expected outcomes include prevalence data, culturally sensitive scalable tools tested for acceptability and feasibility, and understanding of mechanisms and factors contributing to successful introduction. Settlement Services International, the lead partner, will advance knowledge from the study including dissemination of practice tools. This should provide key benefits to reduce the extent and impacts of domestic violence among newly arrived women and their children.
Aim
This research aims to:
1) adapt and test evidence-based screening and response strategies to reduce the incidence and impact of intimate partner violence (IPV), including culturally sensitive risk assessment and safety planning, within a major settlement program with newly arrived refugee women
2) compare perceptions and outcomes after six months between a group of women who experienced screening and intervention and those who did not
3) assess any changes in delivery, disclosures and outcomes over time as settlement program staff adapt to providing screening and intervention
4) describe the prevalence of IPV in a refugee population with associated correlates
5) explore practice learning from bilingual and bicultural guides, case managers and other settlement staff in relation to introduction of IPV screening and intervention
6) understand the mechanisms and contextual factors contributing to i) successful introduction of screening and intervention, and ii) positive outcomes for women
7) achieve comprehensive knowledge translation through development and dissemination of practice tools for scale up across targeted settlement services for recently arrived refugee and migrant women.
Methods
This mixed methods study uses an interrupted time series (ITS) approach. ITS uses repeated measurements taken at different time points before and after the implementation of an intervention. Results gathered before the intervention establish a baseline for the project in the absence of the intervention. When the results gathered after the intervention deviate from the baseline projections, intervention effects are demonstrated. In this project a cohort of women will be surveyed in relation to recent IPV, depression, safety actions and other outcomes associated with IPV. A different group will be surveyed six months following the introduction of screening for IPV and brief intervention/referral when IPV is disclosed. Focus groups with practitioners and a group of service users will, along with survey results, be synthesised using realist analysis.