Domestic Violence Interventions in Social and Health Care Settings: Challenges of Temporary Projects and Short-Term Solutions

Abstract

Social welfare service and health care providers are in a key position to implement successful domestic violence (DV) interventions. However, it is known that DV intervention and prevention work is often lacking in coordination and continuity. In addition, the limited resources, hectic work pace, and changing practices negatively affect the development of successful ways to prevent and intervene in DV. This qualitative study involving 11 focus groups, composed of social welfare and health care professionals ( n = 51) in a midsized Finnish hospital, examined the challenges and possibilities within DV interventions and the adoption of good practices produced by a DV intervention development project funded by the European Union (EU). The results show that short-term development projects, amid the pressure of limited time and resources, encounter serious challenges when applied to wicked and ignored problems, such as DV. Developing successful violence intervention practices requires a broad understanding of the challenges that rapid development projects present to professionals and social welfare service and health care practices at the organizational level. Hence, the implementation of good practices requires continuity in managerial and organizational support, distribution of information, documentation of DV, awareness raising, education, training, and agreement on basic tasks and responsibilities. Otherwise, the failure to continue development work derails the results of such work, and short project durations lead to unnecessary work and the need to reinvent temporary work practices time and again. Short-term interventions provide inefficient solutions to the problem of DV, and a built-in organizational structure can prevent the misuse of organizational and human resources.

Intervening in domestic violence: interprofessional collaboration among social and health care professionals and the police

“…It is crucial to be able to bring different professional concerns -health, wellbeing or security -under a shared purpose and interpretation. Many studies have shown the importance of interprofessional or interdisciplinary training in overcoming these kinds of "language barriers", but there is a significant lack of proper DV-related training for many professionals in general (see Husso et al, 2020;Koistinen & Holma, 2015;Minsky-Kelly et al, 2005;Stover & Lent, 2014;Szilassy et al, 2013;Warrener et al, 2013). Without a proper understanding of the many causes and consequences of violence, it can be difficult to get hold of the multiple but separate processes that are concurrently ongoing within the different agencies (Bacchus et al, 2003;Nikupeteri, 2017).…”

“…Thematic analysis was utilized to approach similarities and differences and to reveal unanticipated insights concerning interprofessional collaboration (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The analysis of the interprofessional collaboration descriptions was based on our research aims to examine both challenges and possibilities in working on DV-related issues in the specific context of interprofessional cooperation, as well as to further develop our previous findings on confronting DV in social and health care settings (see also Husso et al, 2020;Virkki et al, 2015).…”

“…In this article, we focus on the professional collaboration among social and health care professionals and police officers, as well as the differences and the similarities in the work on violence interventions (see also Husso et al, 2020;Piippo et al, 2021). We utilize Hester's (2011) "three-planet model", which can be applied to different professions working on DV-related issues.…”

“…Our interviewees told us that this caused moral distress because the moral and professional responsibility to take action conflicts with the demand to ensure a successful criminal investigation. If the effects of DV and the severity of the situation with various aspects and phases are not understood, different agencies might only deal with a limited scope of this totality and process, without the necessary connection between all the agencies involved (see Husso et al, 2020;Virkki et al, 2015).…”

“…Nonetheless, these cases can still have short-term effects in terms of structural changes. Facilitating permanent change and developing a collaborative culture in organizations entail a long-term process, requiring not only dedicated professionals but also commitment at the managerial level (Husso et al, 2020;Ambrose-Miller & Ashcroft, 2015).…”