Safety-promoting behaviors of community-dwelling abused Chinese women after an advocacy intervention: A randomized controlled trial

• Published in: International journal of nursing studies Vol. 49; no. 6; pp. 645 - 655
• Main Authors: Tiwari, Agnes, Fong, Daniel Y.T., Wong, Janet Y.H., Yuen, Kwan-hok, Yuk, Helina, Pang, Polly, Humphreys, Janice, Bullock, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2012; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Abused women; Abusive relationships; Advocacy; Assessors; Battered women; Behavior; Chinese; Clinical trials; Community; Community living; Domestic Violence; Female; Females; Health behavior; Health Promotion; Humans; Intervention; Nursing; Patient Advocacy; Randomized controlled trial; Safety; Women; China; Domestic violence; Chinese; Abused women; Safety; Randomized controlled trial
• ISSN: 0020-7489; 1873-491X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2011.12.005

To examine the effect of an advocacy intervention on the use of safety-promoting behaviors in community-dwelling abused Chinese women as compared to a control condition of usual care.
This efficacy trial used a randomized controlled, parallel group design.
A total of 200 Chinese women in a community setting who screened positive for intimate partner violence using the Chinese version of the Abuse Assessment Screen were randomized to receive either an advocacy intervention (intervention group, n=100) or usual community care (control group, n=100). The outcome measured was the change in the self-reported safety-promoting behaviors as measured by the Safety-promoting Behavior Checklist over three time-points (baseline, 3-month follow-up and 9-month follow-up). Participants and assessors were blinded to the study hypothesis. Assessors were further blinded to the group membership of the participants.
The Safety-promoting Behavior Checklist scores in the intervention group increased from the baseline on average by 5.65 (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.92–6.39) at 3-month and 6.65 (95% CI, 5.90–7.39) at 9-month follow-ups, while the scores in the control group also increased by 1.71 (95% CI, 1.06–2.37) at 3-month and 1.79 (95% CI, 1.15–2.43) at 9-month follow-ups. After adjusting for baseline differences, the between-group differences in scores were significant at 3-month and 9-month follow-ups (p=0.04). The intervention group increased the scores by 3.61 (95% CI, 2.61–4.61, p<0.001) more than the control group at 3-month and by 4.53 (95% CI, 3.53–5.53, p<0.001) at 9-month follow-ups.
An advocacy intervention is efficacious in increasing the use of safety-promoting behaviors as compared to usual community care in community-dwelling abused Chinese women.