Project: Identifying people who have used domestic and family violence

 

A mixed methods evaluation of a training module to support GPs to identify and respond to patients who have used domestic and family violence

Thank you for your interest in participating in this survey. The following few pages will provide you with further information about the survey, so that you can decide if you would like to take part or not.

Please take the time to read this information carefully.

Your participation is voluntary. If you don’t wish to take part, you don’t have to. If you begin participating in the survey, you can also stop at any time.

About this survey

This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and readiness of general practitioners before and after completing an online training module on identifying and responding to patients who have used domestic and family violence.

This will help us to evaluate whether the training module has been effective in increasing knowledge and skills, and helping GPs to feel more ready to ask patients about their use of violence.   

What will I be asked to do?

You will be asked to complete a brief survey before and after completing the module (approximately 7-10 minutes each). The survey will be deidentified, and won’t be used to assess your clinical practice in any way. It will not be linked to the completion of the module. We will use your date of birth as an identifier to link your survey responses before and after completing the module.

What are the possible benefits?

Participating in this project will help us to understand whether this training module has been effective in increasing the knowledge, skills and readiness to work with patients who have used domestic and family violence. This may be helpful in developing future educational modules that will better support your needs and the needs of other GPs.

What are the possible risks?

We understand that responding to questions about working with patients who have used violence may be distressing for some participants. You can choose not to answer any questions you find difficult or distressing, or to skip ahead to the module at any time. This webpage includes a link to organisations you can contact for support if you experience distress in discussing these issues.

Safety and privacy

All information you provide will remain strictly confidential. Any data collected will be stored securely and disposed of after 5 years according to the University of Melbourne guidelines. After 5 years, data will be deleted from all computers, hard drives, and servers. None of the information collected will be used to assess an individual general practitioners’ practice.

Do I have to take part?

No. Participation is completely voluntary. You can withdraw (quit) at any time by skipping past the survey to the module. However, once you have completed the module, as the data is anonymised, we will not be able to identify and remove your responses from the data set.

What will happen to information about me?

Your date of birth is the only piece of identifying information collected for the survey. This is so we can link your survey responses from before and after you undertake the module. Once your responses have been linked, your date of birth will be replaced with a deidentified code for data storage and analysis. All data will be stored securely at the Department of General Practice (password protected files, encrypted storage, and locked filing cabinets). All the information you provide will be kept strictly confidential (subject to any legal requirement to disclose by a court).

Key findings and outcomes of this project may be used to inform ongoing development of educational resources for clinicians working with patients who have used violence against their intimate partners or families. It may also be used in future publications and presentations.

Who is funding this project?

This project is being funded by a grant from the RACGP, and the Elizabeth and Ross Hindmarsh Family Violence Research Fund Scholarship.

 

Project Team

Responsible Researcher:
Professor Kelsey Hegarty
Contact Person:
Dr Libby Dai
M: 0420 757 465  
E: libby.dai@unimelb.edu.au

 

Will I hear about the results of this project?

If you would like to receive a copy of the summary report, please contact:

Kelsey Hegarty
P: +61 3 8344 4992
E: k.hegarty@unimelb.edu.au.

The findings of this study will also be published on this website.

Where can I get further information?

If you would like more information about the project, please contact the researcher Dr. Libby Dai on 0420 757 465 or at libby.dai@unimelb.edu.au.

Who can I contact if I have any concerns about the project?

This project has been approved by:
Human Research Ethics Committee, The University of Melbourne (HREC reference 2021-21848-19771-3)
If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact:
Manager, Human Research Ethics, Research Ethics and Integrity, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010.
P: +61 3 8344 2073 or
E: HumanEthics-complaints@unimelb.edu.au
All complaints will be treated confidentially. In any correspondence please provide the name of the research team or the name or ethics ID number of the research project.

Where can I access support in relation to intimate partner and family violence?

If you need support because:

  • you have experienced or used domestic or family violence visit our Resources and Support page. or

  • of distress related to working with patients who have experienced or used DFV, you can access:

Victorian Doctors’ Health Program:
(03) 9280 8712 or vdhp.org.au
Free, confidential service for doctors in Victoria experiencing stress, distress, mental health problems, substance use problems, or other health issues.

1800 RESPECT:
1800 737 732 or 1800respect.org.au
National sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.