PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Background: Introduction: Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) is a pervasive societal issue that impacts many women globally. Online help options are becoming increasingly available and have the ability to eliminate certain barriers in help seeking for IPVA, especially in improving accessibility. Objective: This study focused on the quantitative evaluation of the SAFE eHealth intervention for women IPVA survivors. Methods: 198 women that experienced IPVA participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). They were allocated to (a) the intervention group with access to a complete version of a help-website with interactive components or (b) to the limited-intervention control group. Data was gathered about self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, and multiple feasibility aspects. The primary outcome was self-efficacy at six months. In an open feasibility study (OFS; N=170), we assessed demand, implementation and practicality. Results: We found no significant difference over time between groups for self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, fear of partner, awareness and perceived support. However, both study arms showed significantly decreased scores for anxiety and fear of partner. Most participants in both groups were satisfied, but the intervention group showed significantly higher scores for suitability and feeling helped. Furthermore, the intervention was positively evaluated on multiple feasibility aspects. An increase of registrations during the OFS was found. Conclusions: Our findings did not show a significant difference in outcomes between the extensive SAFE intervention compared to the limited-intervention control group. It is, however, difficult to quantify the real contribution of the interactive components, as the control group also had access to a limited version of the intervention for ethical reasons. Both groups were satisfied with the intervention they received, with the intervention study arm significantly more so than the control study arm. Integrated and multi-layered approaches are needed to aptly quantify the impact of online IPVA interventions for survivors.