Media Release: New report highlights ways to support health workforce to respond to domestic and family violence
Building capacity of the primary care workforce to identify and respond to domestic and family violence through tailored training is a key recommendation of The Readiness Program report released by The Safer Families Centre at the University of Melbourne on 23 October.
The report evaluated the effectiveness of a specially designed program that was accessible for general practitioners (GPs), nurses and clinic staff to identify and respond to domestic and family violence (DFV).
Safer Families Centre Director, Professor Kelsey Hegarty, who is a GP and Chair of Family Violence Prevention at the University of Melbourne and The Royal Women’s Hospital said: “GPs are often the first to be told about domestic and family violence or to recognise the signs of someone at risk.
“Unfortunately, not all GPs are trained to sensitively assess risk in this area and offer an empathic response, including connecting victim-survivors to support services.
“Our Readiness Program showed that by offering tailored online and in-person training, we could help GPs and nurses build their confidence and skills.”
To assess the effectiveness of the program, participants were asked about how comfortable they were enquiring about DFV prior to receiving training and three months after training. Confidence increased significantly from 46% pre training to 75% post training.
The Readiness Program was developed in collaboration with The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Blue Knot Foundation and Phoenix Australia.It was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care under the Primary Health Care Quality and Coordination Program – Improving Health System Response to Family and Domestic Violence: National Training for Primary Care Workforce initiative.
Also at the event, the Safer Families Centre announced a new research trial called the Women’s Emotional Well-Being (WEB) Project.
This trial will investigate multiple aspects of health system reform including: introducing a Medicare item number for family safety planning, a new clinical decision support tool and referrals to peer care navigators.
The new project will evaluate whether introducing early intervention into primary care can improve the health, safety and wellbeing of families.
DFV consultations often involve multidisciplinary care plans, need greater resourcing and require ongoing support.
“Primary care needs to be better supported to listen carefully to survivors’ needs and assist them to navigate our complex support system,” said Lily, from the WEAVERs lived-experience group.
Professor Hegarty said that DFV is a chronic, complex social condition that causes major ill health.
This project aims to improve the capability of primary care to respond to victim-survivors and coordinate referrals for women and their children.
“Women participating in the study will be offered a fully funded appointment for a family safety assessment plan, connected to a DFV specialist and a referral for six consultations with a peer care navigator over a six-month period,” she said.
“Once the trial is complete, we will analyse the intervention’s acceptability, adaptability, feasibility and overall impact on women's distress, sense of support and help-seeking.”
The WEB project will provide evidence for the effectiveness of a comprehensive primary care system intervention that increases help-seeking and improves safety for women and children affected by DFV.
“It’s our hope that this work creates lasting positive change and support for women victim-survivors,” Professor Hegarty said.
Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Ged Kearney, delivered a video message to event attendees, thanking victim-survivors for sharing their stories and helping to “turn pain into purpose”.
Watch it back here