EXTERNALLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS
Training needs of exercise, diet and other allied health professionals in responding to gender-based violence
Background
Experiencing gender-based violence is associated with a sequelae of negative short- and long-term health complications. Among these are chronic pain syndromes, functional impairments, cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases (e.g. diabetes), overweight/obesity, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders. These are all also common reasons for referral to exercise, diet and other allied health professionals.
Exercise, diet and other allied health professionals play a potentially important role in screening for gender-based violence and referring to acute crisis support. Their scope could also include delivering interventions that support recovery from short- and long-term physical and mental health consequences of gender-based violence. However, the competency and training needs of this workforce to safely and competently work with people who have experienced gender-based violence are currently unknown.
Aim
This project aims to determine the training needs of tertiary-qualified exercise, diet and other allied health professionals in responding to a person who has experienced gender-based violence.
Methods
An online survey is being conducted as well as qualitative interviews.
The online survey questions were adapted from the Physician Readiness to Manage Intimate Partner Violence Survey (PREMIS). This is a validated tool which can be used as a needs assessment to measure physicians' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and skills to determine what needs to be addressed during gender-based violence training.
The online survey will also be supplemented with qualitative interviews on Zoom where participants will be encouraged to reflect on their knowledge, attitudes and experiences as practicing allied health professionals when answering interview questions.