Problem: Approximately one in four women in the United States will experience Domestic Violence at some point in her life. The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (TJC) both recognize this as a high priority public health concern. Research demonstrates the importance of screening every woman for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) each time she seeks health care. However, research also shows that less than 15% of female patients report being asked about Domestic Violence. Purpose and Scope: The purpose of this capstone proejct was to describe the level of NP recognition and response regarding DV before and after an online DV educational intervention. Since studies show that less than half of all Nurse Practitioners screen their patients for IPV, the health care community must explore ways to disseminate crucial information relevant to domestic violence. This intervention sought to offer current information and available resources to NPs in an online educational program. For this project, “intimate partner violence” and “domestic violence” are used interchangeably and “describes physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current for former partner or spouse”. Goal: The goal of this project was to successfully implement an online educational intervention for Nurse Practitioners. Objectives: First, describe demographic characteristics of participating NPs. Second, describe pre-intervention NP recognition and response regarding DV. Third, describe post-intervention NP recognition and response regarding DV. Plan: Phase One: Conduct a needs assessment using a published evidence-based critique template. Phase Two: Design an online educational intervention using an evidence-ased medicine approach. Phase Three: Implement an evidence-based educational intervention for a projected sample. Phase Four: Evaluate the level of NP recongition and response regarding DV before and after an online DV educational intervention, using the tool developed by Hinderliter. Outcomes and Results: Using a triangulated interventional research design using mixed-methods of interventional-descriptive and content analysis, results of the pre-intervention and post-intervention measures revealed a modest mean score increase in family presence self-awareness in the clinical department head administrators. Moreover, scaled reliability estimates based on internal consistency for the pre-intervention testing achieved significance, while the post-intervention testing also achieved significance with regard to the tool’s performance in this interventional design.
