Keywords: Digital intervention, Intimate Partner Violence, Primary Care, COVID-19
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated violence against women worldwide transforming it into a shadow pandemic for which healthcare professionals are not properly trained. There is an urgent need for effective training to improve prevention, early detection and care for victims, survivors and their families.
Research questions:
What are the effects of an e-learning programme to improve General Practitioners’ (GP) responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the Madrid region (Spain)?
Method:
Using a mixed-methods randomized control trial we investigated changes in IPV knowledge, at baseline and post-intervention, as assessed by the Spanish version of the PREMIS questionnaire. A total of 119 participants met the inclusion criteria and were randomly allocated to an intervention (G1) or control group (G2).
Results:
The 40h training programme was highly valued by both groups, meeting their expectations. The majority of participants were women (89.5% in G1 and 82.8% in G2), senior (66.7% vs 65.5%), working in urban practices (87.7% vs 89.7%) and had received IPV training previously (50%). There were no significant group differences at baseline. After the intervention, there were significant time by group interaction for the overall physician PREMIS scores (Wilks' Lambda = 0.320; p<0.001) with changes in actual and perceived knowledge, perceived preparation, and five opinion scales. There were no statistically significant differences in self-reported detection of new cases.
Conclusions:
This digital intervention provides a feasible and effective training to improve the care provided by GPs to survivors of IPV and their families. Future research should investigate different types of interventions, including other health-care professionals, and using longer follow-up periods.
Points for discussion:
How can we make digital interventions more accesible and attractive to health care professionals to improve the care provided to their populations?
How can we complement the data obtained by self-reported questionnaires (PREMIS) with data provided in electronic medical records, for example management practices, number of diagnoses, and patients’ satisfaction and wellbeing?