An international team of researchers, led Dr. Marilyn Ford-Gilboe from Western University, has received over $3-million in federal funding in an effort to improve the lives of women who have suffered from domestic violence.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is allocating $3,050,674 over five years in the hopes that the team's research will help fill a gap in knowledge about effective interventions for women leaving abuse.
“Women who make the decision to separate from an abusive partner do so to work toward safer, more satisfying lives, but this is often a difficult transition,” said Ford-Gilboe, who is the women’s health research chair in rural health at Western's Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing. “For many women, the violence does not end after separation and can even increase, and they face other challenges that can feel overwhelming, especially if they have few supports.
The team's study will examine the impacts of an innovative, evidence-based intervention called iHEAL, which is delivered by community health nurses and a community partner over a six-month period. Women take part in workshops that introduce them to aspects of the intervention in a group setting, along with one-on-one meetings with the nurse that focus more specifically on each woman’s concerns and priorities. The program is specifically designed to meet the needs of women who have separated from an abusive partner.
“This approach is innovative because it addresses women’s health and healing in a very broad way,” said Ford-Gilboe. “It is appropriate for women from different backgrounds, and is personalized to fit with what women see as their priorities, and the strengths of the communities in which they live.”
The current study will include 280 women who have separated from an abusive partner, and who live in rural and urban communities. The study will test whether iHEAL improves women’s quality of life, mental and physical health, confidence and control.
The research team conducting the study includes researchers from McMaster University, University of Montreal and Johns Hopkins University, as well as another four from Western. The study will be co-led by partners at the University of British Columbia and the University of New Brunswick.