PRimary and community carE Staff as SURvivors of domestic violence and abusE - PRESSURE

Domestic violence and abuse is a type of violence and abuse that happens between adults who are partners, ex-partners, or family members. It includes psychological, emotional, physical, sexual, and financial abuse, and stalking. A survey carried out in England and Wales showed that 28% of women experience domestic violence and abuse during their lives. Recent research has shown that women who work as healthcare professionals—as doctors, nurses, and in other healthcare roles—are even more likely to experience it. Healthcare professionals who have experienced domestic violence and abuse often provide support for patients who are experiencing abuse, but rarely seek help for themselves. Working as a healthcare professional can be a stressful job and experiencing domestic violence and abuse at the same time is very difficult.

In this project, we aim to:

(i) find out whether organisations such as GP surgeries, pharmacies, dental practices, and community hospitals have useful policies for staff experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

(ii) find out how experiencing domestic violence and abuse affects healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses, other healthcare staff), including how it affects their experiences at work.

(iii) understand what help and support healthcare professionals who have experienced domestic violence and abuse have sought, and might need.

(iv) understand the implications of staff experiencing domestic violence and abuse for managers and senior staff.

(iv) improve the policies on domestic violence and abuse in healthcare organisations and build a foundation for the next stage of our research. In this next stage, we want to develop services to provide emotional support to healthcare professionals who have experienced domestic violence and abuse.

The research will involve:

1. an online survey for healthcare professionals working in primary care and community healthcare settings.

2. a review of policy documents from these settings about staff experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

3. interviews with around 30 healthcare professionals who have experienced domestic violence and abuse, and with the staff who might support them (for example, managers).

A healthcare professional, who has experienced domestic violence and abuse herself, has helped us to develop this proposal. She will sit on a panel, with other healthcare professionals who have experienced abuse, to work with us on this project.

To share the findings from our research, we will write reports and blogs, including for organisations such as NHS England, and present our findings to researchers and NHS staff. We will also produce recommendations about the types of support that employers should provide, and about the content of staff domestic violence and abuse policies. In the future, we plan to apply for a larger grant so that we can design support specifically for healthcare professionals who have experienced domestic violence and abuse.

Amount Awarded: £145,256