Validation of a Domestic Violence Program Impact Measure

Silverman, Jay

Abstract

Background and Significance: Domestic violence affects one to three million Americans each year and has significant impacts on victim's health and health care. To better address the needs of patients experiencing domestic violence (DV), a growing number of hospitals and health centers have established on-site DV programs. There is currently a pressing need for a specific instrument to assess the progress of clients participating in such healthcare-based DV programs, both for use as a clinical assessment tool, as well as for program evaluation purposes. Research design and specific aims: The goal of this project is to conduct initial studies to assess the reliability and validity of the English and Spanish versions of the DV Program Client Survey, a client progress measure designed by the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals' DV Advisory Council for use in healthcare-based DV programs. This project will specifically assess the four following aspects of the DV Program Client Survey among clients participating in four well established healthcare-based DV programs: 1) the content validity of the English and Spanish versions of the survey through three focus groups with white, non-Hispanic, African-American, and Hispanic clients respectively (n = 6-8 per group), 2) the test-retest reliability of the English version of the survey (n = 50), 3) the concurrent validity of the English (n = 50) and the Spanish (n = 50) versions of the survey in comparison with the Index of Spouse Abuse, the Medical Outcomes Study - Short Form 20, the Quality of Life Index, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and 4) the response bias of the English version of the survey through a comparison of surveys completed under the guidance of an advocate (n = 50) with those completed independently of an advocate (n = 50). Contribution and long-term objective: This study will provide essential information regarding the reliability and validity of both the English and Spanish versions of an instrument to assess the progress of clients participating in healthcare-based DV programs. This instrument will be extremely useful to healthcare-based DV programs for clinical and program development purposes, in addition to providing valuable information regarding the effectiveness of these programs.