An Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Intervention In A Nurse Home Visitation Program: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Keywords

domestic violence; intimate partner violence; IPV prevention and/or intervention; maternal-infant health; nurse home visiting

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem with many negative consequences, particularly for pregnant women. This randomized trial investigated the effectiveness of an IPV preventive intervention embedded within the Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) program. Materials and Methods: Participants enrolled over a 20-month period and were interviewed at baseline and 1- A nd 2-year follow-up. Eligibility criteria included first pregnancy, eligible for the nutrition program Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), English or Spanish speaking, and at least 15 years of age. All women initially referred and screened were randomized to either intervention (NFP+) or control (NFP only) condition. The final sample consisted of 238 women completing baseline assessments; retention was 81% at 2-year follow-up. Results: Analyses indicated that there were no main effects: The intervention affected participants differently depending on their baseline experience with IPV. For physical violence victimization, an interaction between baseline victimization and treatment was found; the intervention reduced victimization at 1 year (and approached significance at 2 years), but only among women who had not experienced past-year physical victimization at baseline. For sexual violence victimization, another interaction emerged; women in the intervention group were more likely to report sexual violence victimization at 2-year follow-up, but only among participants who had reported sexual victimization at baseline. The only effect on IPV perpetration was psychological perpetration at 2-year follow-up; again, the treatment effect was moderated by baseline perpetration. The intervention reduced psychological perpetration for participants who were nonperpetrators at baseline, but had no effect on those reporting perpetration. Conclusions: Overall, findings suggest that the intervention was effective in reducing some forms of violence among those not experiencing IPV at baseline, but was ineffective or potentially harmful for those already experiencing IPV.

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Publication Title

Journal of Women's Health

Volume

27

Issue

12

Number of Pages

1482-1490

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2017.6599

Socpus ID

85058555543 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85058555543

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