Recovering From Intimate Partner Violence Through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE): Tailoring and Evaluating a Patient-Centered Counseling Intervention for Women Veterans

Women are the fastest growing group of VHA patients, with their population recently increasing by 80%. Women Veterans (WV's) are at higher risk for IPV than their non-Veteran peers, with that 1 in 3 WVs report lifetime IPV, compared to 1 in 4 women in the general U.S. population. Research reports up to 30% of WVs experience past-year IPV. As a result, WVs are considered an important population for IPV screening and counseling interventions. In response, VHA Women's Health Services (WHS) and the IPV Assistance Program of Care Management and Social Work Services (CMSWS) are implementing IPV screening programs for women and are seeking an effective intervention to implement into care. Extant brief counseling interventions for IPV result in minimal effects on patients' health and safety. A recent review of IPV screening trials highlighted insufficient intensity of post-disclosure counseling interventions, concluding that existing interventions are too brief, unstructured, and generic. Such minimal intervention effects of the current standard of care have led leaders in the field to call for the development and testing of new and more comprehensive IPV interventions, especially for delivery in conjunction with primary care. The Recovering from IPV through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE) intervention fills this need.

The PI, a clinical psychologist and health services researcher with expertise in and national recognition for IPV research and care, has developed an innovative IPV intervention to respond to this need. Recovering from IPV through Strengths and Empowerment (RISE) is based on the healthcare needs and preferences of WVs who have experienced IPV. RISE was developed using rigorous methods, building on the evidence base from the applicant's HSR&D CDA and on input of VHA primary care and behavioral health experts. RISE is based on empowerment, a highly relevant intervention model for women who experience IPV. It is an individualized, variable-length, modular-based intervention addressing key factors:

• safety planning,
• educating about the health effects of IPV and warning signs,
• improving coping and self-care,
• enhancing social support,
• making difficult decisions, and
• connecting with resources. RISE is rooted in empowerment and incorporates aspects of Motivational Interviewing, an evidence-based approach designed to facilitate behavior change that is widely used in VHA for numerous health issues.

This timely research project addresses the critical gap in current IPV care. It will refine and formally evaluate RISE using established methods for rapid and efficient effectiveness testing, including a Hybrid 1 randomized clinical trial (RCT) to evaluate RISE that simultaneously gathers information on barriers to and facilitators of implementation. The study is guided by the first two phases of the Replicating Effective Programs (REP) framework, pre-conditions and pre-implementation. These phases emphasize tailoring interventions with stakeholder input and iterative cycles of pilot testing within routine practice conditions. Use of the REP framework will maximize the likelihood that RISE-should its effectiveness be demonstrated-can easily be integrated into routine care in VHA.

The Specific Aims of this study are as follows: