Health care interventions for intimate partner violence: what women want.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine what women want from health care interventions for intimate partner violence (IPV) and understand why they found certain interventions useful or not useful.


METHODS
We conducted interviews with 21 women who have a past or current history of intimate partner violence. Participants were given cards describing various IPV interventions and asked to perform a pile sort by placing cards into three categories ("definitely yes," "maybe," and "definitely no") indicating whether they would want that resource available. They were then asked to explain their categorizations.


RESULTS
The pile sort identified that the majority of participants supported informational interventions and individual counseling. Only 9 of 17, however, felt couple's counseling was a good idea with seven reporting it was definitely not useful. Half wanted help with substance use and treatment for depression. Interventions not well regarded included "Receiving a follow-up telephone call from the doctor's office/clinic" and "Go stay at shelter" with only 7 and 5 of the 21 women placing these cards in the "definitely yes" pile. "Health provider reporting to police" was the intervention most often placed in the "definitely no" pile, with 9 of 19 women doing so. The women described several elements that affected their likelihood of using particular IPV interventions. One theme related stages of "readiness" for change. Another theme dealt with the complexity of many women's lives. Interventions that could accommodate various stages of "readiness" and helped address concomitant issues were deemed more useful. Characteristics of such interventions included: 1) not requiring disclosure or identification as IPV victims, 2) presenting multiple options, and 3) preserving respect for autonomy.


CONCLUSIONS
Women who had experienced IPV described not only what they wanted from IPV interventions but how they wished to receive these services and why they would chose to use certain resources. They advised providing a variety of options to allow individualizing according to different needs and readiness to seek help. They emphasized interventions that protected safety, privacy, and autonomy.
Chang
Judy C
JC
Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. jchang@mail.magee.edu
Cluss
Patricia A
PA
Ranieri
LeeAnn
L
Hawker
Lynn
L
Buranosky
Raquel
R
Dado
Diane
D
McNeil
Melissa
M
Scholle
Sarah H
SH
D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health