Project Summary  

This research project is in progress. PCORI will post the research findings on this page within 90 days after the results are final.

What is the research about?

Intimate partner violence, or IPV, can include physical, sexual, mental, and emotional violence from current or former spouses or partners. People who have experienced IPV often have poor health, depression, and poor quality of life. Getting needed medical care can be more difficult when patients have social, emotional, or legal problems as well as experiencing IPV.

This study compares two ways to help patients who experience IPV and depression. The first way is to receive usual care from a social worker. The second way is to work with a community health worker, or CHW, to receive additional care and connections to community resources for services that aren’t usually addressed in the healthcare setting.

Who can this research help?

This research can help doctors and hospitals plan how they will provide care for patients with both IPV and depression.

What is the research team doing?

The team is working with 27 hospitals and clinics to recruit patients at risk for IPV. Patients who have depression and have experienced an IPV event in the past three months are being invited to join the study. The team is assigning patients by chance to one of two groups:

• In the first group, patients are working with a social worker at the hospital. The social worker gathers information about the patients. The information includes mental health needs, history of IPV, basic social needs, and access to medical care. Social workers work with the patients to help plan for their safety and connect them to available resources.
• In the second group, patients are working with a CHW for six months to identify their physical, social, emotional, and legal needs. The patients and CHWs choose which needs to focus on. CHWs then provide personal support to patients. They take patients to their appointments and have face-to-face visits, phone calls, or text messages. CHWs help patients get referrals to other healthcare providers, legal professionals, social services, and problem-solving therapy, based on patients’ needs.

The team is comparing the two groups on changes in patient safety, depression, and quality of life.

IPV survivors and patient partners are helping the team plan and conduct the study.

Research methods at a glance

Design Elements	Description
Design	Randomized controlled trial
Population	225 English-speaking University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) patients, age 18 and older, who have experienced an IPV or emotional abuse event in the past 3 months and/or are the nonoffending parent on a child protective services report for a URMC pediatrics patient
Interventions/ Comparators	Personalized support from a CHW Usual care with a social worker
Outcomes	Patient safety, depression, quality of life
Timeframe	1-year follow-up for primary outcomes

Project Details

Principal Investigator

Catherine Cerulli, JD, PhD

Project Status

In PCORI Peer-Review Process

Project Title

Healing through Education, Advocacy and Law (HEAL) in Response to Violence

Board Approval Date

April 2016

Project End Date

February 2021

Organization

University of Rochester

Year Awarded

2016

State

New York

Project Type

Research Project

Health Conditions  

Mental/Behavioral Health

Depression

Multiple/Comorbid Chronic Conditions

Trauma/Injuries

Intervention Strategies

Care Coordination
Patient Navigation
Other Health Services Interventions
Training and Education Interventions

Populations

Women

Funding Announcement

Improving Healthcare Systems

Project Budget

$1,992,205

Study Registration Information

HSRP20163101

NCT03016481

Partners

Patient/Caregiver Partners

• Elaine Bell, Survivors Advocating for Effective Reform
• Ineabelle Geena Cruz, Survivors Advocating for Effective Reform

Other Stakeholder Partners

• Jaime Saunders, Willow Domestic Violence Center
• Allison O'Malley, RESOLVE of Greater Rochester, Inc.