The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #59028

Ann Taket, Faculty of Health, South Bank University, 103 Borough Rd., London, SE1 0AA, United Kingdom, 44 20 7815 8097, a.r.taket@sbu.ac.uk and Angela Irvine, PhD, Ceres Policy Research, 607 Miramar Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060.

This paper reports findings from an evaluation of four domestic violence projects in England that aimed at training health professionals to more effectively signpost survivors to support services. This paper focuses on 48 interviews with survivors of domestic violence. Findings suggest that different types of domestic violence support are correlated with three varying degrees of mental and social health benefits: (1) Women who have left their partner but never accessed support services exhibit improved mental health compared to when they were with their abusive partners. The health benefits are limited, as some members of this first group of women continue to exhibit signs of denial and violence toward their current partners or children. (2) Women who have left their partner and accessed support through Domestic Violence Units in the police department or counseling exhibit stronger signs of improved mental health when compared to the first group of women. (3) Women who have left their partner and accessed support through broad based domestic violence support services exhibit the most dramatic signs of improved mental health. Further, these women attribute gains in social health to new relationships formed through the support services. The authors conclude that, while all support services help survivors of domestic violence, extra effort should be made to refer women to broad-based domestic violence services.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to:
• -describe the health benefits associated with three varying degrees of domestic violence support
• -assess the benefits of referring domestic violence survivors to broad-based support services

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.