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In the UK, the Identification and Referral to Improve Safety (IRIS) initiative has been developed for use within primary care to support women survivors of domestic violence and abuse (DVA). However, while evaluated nationally, less is known regarding impact of implementation at a local level. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effectiveness of IRIS within one locality in the UK.

A qualitative study using interviews/focus groups with primary care teams and women who had experienced DVA in one primary care setting in the UK. Interviews with 18 participants from five professional categories including: general practitioners, practice nurses, practice managers, assistant practice managers and practice receptionists. Focus group discussion/interview with seven women who had accessed IRIS. Data were collected between November 2016 and March 2017.

Five main themes were identified for professionals: Team role approach to training, Professional confidence, Clear pathway for referral and support, Focussed support, Somewhere to meet that is a “safe haven”. For women the following themes were identified: Longevity of DVA; Lifeline; Face to face talking to someone; Support and understood where I was coming from; A place of safety.

IRIS played a significant role in helping primary care professionals to respond effectively. For women IRIS was more proactive and holistic than traditional approaches.

This study was designed to assess the impact that a local level implementation of the national IRIS initiative had on both providers and users of the service simultaneously. The study identifies that a “whole team approach” in the primary care setting is critical to the effectiveness of DVA initiatives.

The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a participant led arts-based workshop for survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) in order to explore their experiences and impact of FGM on health and wellbeing, and to use the artefacts to inform development of an e-learning resource.

The study utilised a creative narrative approach which included the sharing of personal stories, the creation of pottery models and the sharing of artefacts. A narrative approach was chosen as the methodology for the study as narratives are now well established within qualitative research as a meaningful way in which the voices of participants take precedence over those of the researcher. Six women who are living with FGM agreed to take part.

The composition of the workshop essentially encompassed two main strands: the creation of a persona and sharing artefacts. These are described in detail with supplementary images included wherever appropriate. The authors have not attempted to present the findings of the workshop from the perspective of the researcher but have rather enabled the findings to speak for themselves.

There is a paucity of studies which have explored women’s experiences of living with FGM and the impact on health and well-being. The findings suggest that there is further scope for research and practice development which examines the impact of education on professional’s approaches to FGM.

This study and the wider focus towards the impact of FGM beyond the physical or procedural aspects of FGM offer a contribution to the evolving evidence base in this field.

This paper aims to estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the UK general population and in the low-risk clinical population and to identify the methodological challenges presented by this task.

A rapid review of the evidence was conducted. Data were extracted with the help of pre-designed tools and were synthesised to answer the two study aims. The data extracted was both qualitative and quantitative.

In the general population, crime survey data gave a range of past-year IPV prevalence from 1.8% to 4.5%. This was higher in women than men (2.5%–6.3% vs 0.9%–2.7%). In both the general and low-risk clinical population, there was little data on pregnant women or gay men and lesbians. No significant relationships between IPV and ethnicity were found. Different surveys used different definitions of IPV and domestic violence, making it difficult to give an accurate estimate. There were also problems with data accuracy.

This research is original and contributes to the knowledge about IPV screening and if prevalence studies help.

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the accuracy and effectiveness of screening tools and subsequent interventions in the detection and treatment of intimate partner violence (IPV) in non-high-risk settings (defined here as those in which routine IPV screening does not take place in the UK, such as in general practice).

Rapid review as defined by Grant and Booth – it is used under time or financial constraint to assess what is known using systematic review methods. Medline, PsycINFO, Embase and Cochrane Library databases to May 2019 were searched for “intimate partner violence” and synonyms plus terms related to screening and interventions. A Medline update was performed in August 2020. Data were extracted with the help of a predesigned tool and were synthesised to answer the two study aims. Data were mixed quantitative and qualitative.

The search yielded 10 relevant papers on screening (6 on accuracy and 4 on effectiveness) and 13 on intervention. These showed evidence of the effectiveness of simple screening tools and of subsequent interventions. However, the evidence was insufficient to support a change in UK guidelines which currently do not recommend their use outside of current high-risk environments.

Clinicians outside of high-risk areas should consider the use of some IPV screening tools and interventions but only within research protocols to gather further evidence.

Domestic abuse continues to be largely hidden phenomenon. For older survivors this invisibility is further compounded by conceptual confusion surrounding domestic abuse and other forms of family violence. The purpose of this paper is to explore service responses to abuse among older people from across a range of sectors. Where possible the perspectives of older people themselves were explored.

A mixed methods approach incorporating postal questionnaires and semi-structured telephone interviews. Agencies and organizations from both the statutory and voluntary sector who provided specific domestic abuse support services or general services and support for older people (aged 59 years and over) and older people, either as survivors of abuse or with an interest in the development of services for older people within one region of the UK were invited to take part in the project. In total, 18 individuals from a range of agencies and three older women survivors agreed to take part in the study.

The findings highlighted three main themes, first, lack of conceptual clarity between domestic abuse and elder abuse, second, complexity of family dynamics and abusive relationships, and third, deficit in dedicated service provision for older survivors. The findings are discussed within the context of the existing literature and key recommendations include wider recognition of the significance of inter-professional education, training and working practices.

This paper identifies the complexities and challenges that continue to face organizations in terms of recognition and provision of services for older survivors of abuse.

It is now widely acknowledged that health care professionals on the front line of care delivery will often be among the first to whom patients or clients who have experienced abuse will present or disclose abuse in a clinical context. It is therefore of pivotal importance that all health care professionals, including nurses, are adequately prepared at the earliest opportunity to effectively respond to a disclosure of abuse or identify where abuse may be suspected. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In order to address this contemporary challenge within health care the authors present a model, developed in the UK, for the embedding of safeguarding knowledge, skills and attitudes within undergraduate pre-registration nursing curricula. This model is integrative and focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the field of safeguarding vulnerable adults and children.

Student evaluation to date has been extremely positive with the majority of student responses indicating that individuals felt that they had received the requisite level of educational support and knowledge to enable them to recognise concerns. However, it was also clear that students felt that the knowledge gained within the classroom setting needed to be effectively supported and translated in the practice setting.

Safeguarding clearly forms a central part of professional accountability and responsibility. It is therefore pivotal that professionals receive the requisite education, skills and knowledge at the earliest opportunity.

To the authors’ knowledge this initiative is novel in approach and as such has the potential to inform similar education programmes.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of domestic abuse on the health and lives of older women.

A qualitative research design was used and data were collected using in‐depth interviews with 16 older women who had experienced domestic abuse. The interviews varied between one and two hours in length and, with the participant's permission, all of the interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was undertaken utilising an iterative approach. In the present study all data were manually indexed and coded.

The findings of this study illustrate that the consequences of domestic abuse for older women are far reaching, impacting significantly on the long‐term health and emotional wellbeing of those affected. This paper also highlights that there is currently little available data regarding older women and domestic abuse within the particular context of health. This is increasingly being recognised as a significant deficit in awareness and understanding within society as a whole and, more particularly, for those responsible for support and care provision. Existing policy in this field and the implications for service development are also considered.

This is a small scale study and therefore there are limitations in terms of generalisability.

This paper discusses the specific issues that arise for older women who have experienced domestic abuse within the particular context of health.

This paper discusses various examples of selection, bibliographic description of electronic resources, and how the mediation provided by librarians can help users with their choices during searching. Users are confronted with more information than ever before, and their expectations are becoming increasingly diverse. This article presents several observations gathered from public libraries and considers the conditions of access and description to electronic resources in various French libraries. Finally added value in authority records is discussed, with particular reference to URLs.