Domestic violence (DV) is a major public health problem with high health and social costs. A solution to this multi-faceted problem requires that various help providers work together in an effective and optimal manner when dealing with different parties of DV.
The objective of this research and development project (2008–2013) by Leppakoski and colleagues was to improve the preparedness of the social and healthcare professionals to manage DV. They recently focused on the evaluation of interprofessional education (IPE) to provide knowledge and skills for identifying and intervening in DV and to improve collaboration among social and health care professionals and other help providers at the local and regional level. The evaluation data were carried out with an internal evaluation. The evaluation data were collected from the participants orally and in the written form.
The participants were satisfied with the content of the IPE programme itself and the teaching methods used. Participation in the training sessions could have been more active. Moreover, some of the people who had enrolled for the trainings could not attend all of them.
Overall, the study indicated IPE is a valuable way to develop intervening in DV. However, greater commitment to the training is required from not only the participants and their superiors but also from trustees.
Read More: http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/13561820.2014.955913