BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The US Preventive Services Task Force and Institute of Medicine recommend intimate partner violence (IPV) screening and counseling as standard preventative care for women. However, an intervention is needed for women who disclose IPV. The PI has developed a brief counseling intervention called Recovering from IPV through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE).

OBJECTIVE(S):
The purpose of this multi-phase project is to refine and formally evaluate RISE for use with female VA patients who have experienced IPV. The study's three specific aims are to: 1) tailor and refine RISE for use in VA (Phase 1); 2) conduct a small open trial of RISE with female VA patients to inform the development of a user-friendly, tailored intervention manual (Phase 2); 3) examine the effects of RISE on women Veterans' psychosocial outcomes, and 3a) determine feasibility and acceptability of RISE (Phase 3).

METHODS:
This multi-site project takes place at VA Boston and VA Connecticut. This study includes observational and interventional components, and it uses a mixed methods analytic approach. In Phase 1 we conducted focus groups with female VA patients and qualitative telephone interviews with VA providers to inform alterations to the RISE manual. Focus groups and provider interviews were recorded, transcribed, and qualitatively analyzed using rapid content analysis. In Phase 2, the modified RISE intervention is being tested in an open-trial with female VA patients and RISE providers using formative evaluation methods (i.e., qualitative interviewing and rapid content analysis) for further refinement of RISE. Phase 3 is an effectiveness-implementation Hybrid Type I RCT to compare RISE to an information/referral on women's psychosocial outcomes and assess feasibility/acceptability. Pre, post (10 weeks), and follow up (14 weeks) self-report assessments among women Veterans, and post-intervention interviews with VA patients and interventionists, will be collected. Data from RCT will inform final recommendations of RISE implementation into VHA.

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
Phase 1 is complete, with five focus groups (n=25 women) and 23 VA provider interviews conducted and analyzed. Phase 1 participants found RISE highly acceptable and appropriate, noting strengths including RISE's nonjudgmental, empowering stance, and patient-centered agenda. Content and context modifications were identified and RISE was modified accordingly (e.g., including safety assessments in each session, expanding session 1 from 30 to 60 minutes, adding provider tips and additional resources).

IMPACT:
Despite VHA recommendations to screen female patients for IPV, there is a lack of empirically supported brief counseling interventions for those who disclose IPV. This project fills this gap by evaluating an innovative, patient-centered brief counseling intervention for IPV that is tailored to women's unique healthcare needs and preferences. Findings from the current study will inform recommendations of RISE implementation into VHA, filling an unmet need.

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External Links for this Project

NIH Reporter

Grant Number: I01HX002178-01A1
Link: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9291950

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PUBLICATIONS:

Journal Articles

1. Iverson KM, Dardis CM, Grillo AR, Galovski TE, Pogoda TK. Associations between traumatic brain injury from intimate partner violence and future psychosocial health risks in women. Comprehensive psychiatry. 2019 Jul 1; 92:13-21. [view]
2. Iverson KM, Dardis CM, Cowlishaw S, Webermann AR, Shayani DR, Dichter ME, Mitchell KS, Mattocks KM, Gerber MR, Portnoy GR. Effects of Intimate Partner Violence During COVID-19 and Pandemic-Related Stress on the Mental and Physical Health of Women Veterans. Journal of general internal medicine. 2022 Sep 1; 37(Suppl 3):724-733. [view]
3. Dardis CM, Dichter ME, Iverson KM. Empowerment, PTSD and revictimization among women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Psychiatry Research. 2018 Aug 1; 266:103-110. [view]
4. Davin KR, Dardis CM, Barth MR, Iverson KM. Prospective mental health effects of intimate partner stalking among women veterans. Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy. 2022 Jul 1; 14(5):751-758. [view]
5. Iverson KM, Danitz SB, Driscoll M, Vogt D, Hamilton AB, Gerber MR, Wiltsey Stirman S, Shayani DR, Suvak MK, Dichter ME. Recovering from intimate partner violence through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE): Development, pilot testing, and refinement of a patient-centered brief counseling intervention for women. Psychological Services. 2021 Jun 10; 19(Suppl 2):102-112. [view]
6. Iverson KM, Danitz SB, Shayani DR, Vogt D, Stirman SW, Hamilton AB, Mahoney CT, Gerber MR, Dichter ME. Recovering From Intimate Partner Violence Through Strengths and Empowerment: Findings From a Randomized Clinical Trial. The Journal of clinical psychiatry. 2021 Nov 23; 83(1). [view]
7. Grillo AR, Danitz SB, Dichter ME, Driscoll MA, Gerber MR, Hamilton AB, Wiltsey-Stirman S, Iverson KM. Strides Toward Recovery From Intimate Partner Violence: Elucidating Patient-Centered Outcomes to Optimize a Brief Counseling Intervention for Women. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2021 Aug 1; 36(15-16):NP8431-NP8453. [view]
8. Webermann AR, Dardis CM, Iverson KM. The role of general self-efficacy in intimate partner violence and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among women veterans. Journal of traumatic stress. 2022 Jun 1; 35(3):868-878. [view]
9. Danitz SB, Stirman SW, Grillo AR, Dichter ME, Driscoll M, Gerber MR, Gregor K, Hamilton AB, Iverson KM. When user-centered design meets implementation science: integrating provider perspectives in the development of an intimate partner violence intervention for women treated in the United States' largest integrated healthcare system. BMC women's health. 2019 Nov 27; 19(1):145. [view]
10. Shayani DR, Danitz SB, Low SK, Hamilton AB, Iverson KM. Women Tell All: A Comparative Thematic Analysis of Women's Perspectives on Two Brief Counseling Interventions for Intimate Partner Violence. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2022 Feb 22; 19(5). [view]

DRA: Health Systems
DRE: Technology Development and Assessment, Treatment - Efficacy/Effectiveness Clinical Trial, TRL - Development
Keywords: Intimate Partner Violence, Organizational Structure, Outcomes - Patient
MeSH Terms: none