RISE With Veteran Service Providers

Summary

Veterans and their families are more likely to experience forms of family violence like intimate-partner violence and child maltreatment. Evidence suggests that healthcare and social service providers (HSSPs) need more training to effectively and confidently recognize and respond to these situations. The Violence, Evidence, Guidance, Action (VEGA) Educational Intervention is a novel education intervention aimed at improving provider's preparation for these clinical encounters. The goal of this project is to determine the acceptability and feasibility of a future randomized-controlled trial comparing two approaches (facilitator-led VEGA or self-directed VEGA) to administering the VEGA training to understand whether/how these approaches can support HSSPs continued care of veterans and their families. The investigators aim to generate initial estimates of the effectiveness of both approaches in improving HSSPs knowledge and skills to effectively recognize and respond to intimate-partner violence and related forms of family violence, including child maltreatment. As well, the investigators aim to contribute to the knowledge base regarding optimal educational approaches for HSSP education in family violence.

The investigators hypothesize that there will be significant increases in preparedness, knowledge and skills, and self-efficacy to recognize and respond to both CM and IPV in both the experimental and AC arms from Time 1 (baseline) to Time 2 (immediately after the intervention) and Time 1 (baseline) to Time 3 (3 month follow-up). These improvements will be slightly attenuated in the experimental arm. Qualitative data pertaining to perceived value and impact will corroborate the quantitative findings.

Conditions

• Domestic Violence
• Veterans Family
• Veterans
• Child Maltreatment

Interventions

OTHER

Violence, Evidence, Guidance, Action Project (VEGA) Education Intervention

VEGA is a novel education intervention that has the potential to improve the preparation of healthcare and social service providers (HHSPs) to be able to effectively recognize and respond to intimate partner violence (IPV) and related forms of family violence, including child maltreatment (CM), in their clinical encounters. VEGA was developed based on systematic reviews and consultation with individuals belonging to 22 national healthcare and social service organizations, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. VEGA follows a competency-based framework and a participatory, encounter-based curriculum that includes four learning modules: (a) the epidemiology of IPV and CM; (b) strategies for safely recognizing and responding to (i) IPV and (ii) CM; and (c) principles for ensuring safe clinical encounters for IPV and CM discussions.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• McMaster University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Melissa Kimber, PhD, MSW, RSW · McMaster University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

100 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-08-01

Primary Completion

2024-03-13

Completion

2024-03-13

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations