Assessing the success of the WomanKind program: An integrated model of 24-hour health care response to domestic violence

Purpose: The WomanKind program, a non-profit health care based program for for victims of domestic/intimate partner violence (IPV), seeks to enable and motivate health care providers to identify victims of such violence and refer them to WomanKind's in-house services. An evaluation designed to assess client referral to WomanKind services and the impact of health care provider training was carried out.

Methods: Data were collected at three intervals over a 2-year period at 3 intervention and 2 comparison hospitals located in Minneapolis, MN. The focus of data collection efforts was to assess the providers' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors (KABB) concerning identification and referral of victims of IPV. Hospital staff and volunteer advocate training programs also were evaluated. Chart reviews were conducted and client referrals assessed.

Results: Providers at WomanKind hospitals demonstrated significantly higher knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors than those at comparison hospitals throughout the study. During the data collection period, 1719 IPV victims were identified and referred to the WomanKind program, while only 27 IPV victims were referred to trained social workers at the comparison hospitals. Chart reviews indicated that emergency staff at the intervention sites provide documentation of IPV in patient records twice as frequently as emergency staff at the comparison sites.

Conclusion: This research underscores the efficacy of a well-structured, multidisciplinary effort to deliver services to IPV victims. The results demonstrate that specialized training and on-site client services create a significant positive impact on the KABB of health care providers.