IRIS+ feasibility study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
IRIS+ training and support intervention feasibility study for general practice to improve the response to patients experiencing or perpetrating domestic violence and abuse and their children
IRAS ID
220809
Contact name
Gene Feder
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
The IRIS+ (Enhanced Identification and Referral to Improve Safety) feasibility study is part of the REPROVIDE (Reaching Everyone Programme of Research on Violence in diverse Domestic Environments) Programme. IRIS+ aims to increase the safety and wellbeing of victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) by improving how general practice professionals respond to adult patients who experience or perpetrate DVA and to their children. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/primaryhealthcare/researchthemes/reprovide/
IRIS+ is enlarging the original IRIS model beyond women survivors of DVA. IRIS+ aims to enhance, integrate and streamline DVA training and support intervention for general practice professionals. The intervention will assist general practice professionals in identifying, documenting, and referring female and male patients who may have experienced DVA as victims, perpetrators, or both and their children who may have been exposed to DVA to specialist services and offering them appropriate support. The intervention will include a training intervention to clinicians and access to IRIS+ service/hub support workers who specialise in female and male victims and perpetrators and their children.
The current mixed method study will test the feasibility and acceptability of IRIS+ DVA training and support intervention. The training and advocate roles will be tried out initially in four practices (current study) and then in a large experimental study (definitive trial) investigating whether the programme works and is value for money.Building on the success of IRIS, the IRIS+ project will thus develop, assess the feasibility of (current study) and conduct a definitive trial of a new integrated training and support intervention. The feasibility study is part of the development phase. The full trial, which will follow the development/feasibility phase, will be required to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of IRIS+ and the nested qualitative study to capture and explain how contextual factors influence implementation.
Summary of Results
Clinicians and service providers believed that the IRIS+ intervention had filled a service gap and was a valuable resource in identifying and referring women, men and children affected by domestic violence and abuse. Despite increased levels of preparedness reported by clinicians after training in managing the complexity of domestic violence and abuse in their practice, the intervention proved to be insufficient to catalyse identification and specialist referral of men and direct identification and referral (without their non-abusive parents) of children and young people.
The study also revealed that reports provided to general practice by other agencies are important sources of information about adult and children patients affected by domestic violence and abuse. However, in the absence of guidance about how to use this information in patient care, there are uncertainties and variation in practice.
The study highlighted ways in which specific adaptations to the intervention could potentially allow it to progress to a viable model. Further development work is needed to strengthen some specific elements of the training intervention, especially the identification of men, the direct engagement with children, and the guidance on responding to information received from other agencies. The feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a reconfigured training and advocacy support programme needs to be fully evaluated.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SW/0098
Date of REC Opinion
6 Jul 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion