RELENT: ImpRoving mEntal heaLth professional rEspoNses to perpeTrators
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving the response of mental health services to perpetration of domestic abuse: protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation and intervention development study
IRAS ID
340692
Contact name
Vishal Bhavsar
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 31 days
Research summary
Domestic abuse is abuse towards a partner, ex-partner or relative. It affects 30% of women and 10% of men and drives health and social care need. Most research focuses on victims of domestic abuse, with less attention paid to perpetrators.
Perpetrators of domestic abuse are often referred to mental health services, according to Oram’s review (2014) and PPI with charities and victims/survivors. Therefore, mental health services urgently need to improve how they identify and assess perpetration of domestic abuse. I propose that this is a window of opportunity to help mental health services carry out their role more effectively and to reduce violence.
We will:
A. Carry out three focus groups with mental health professionals(nurses, doctors, social workers), on how they respond to perpetration of domestic abuse.
B. Finalise an online questionnaire for mental health professionals to gather information on their experiences, attitudes, and needs in this area. I will use statistical testing to arrive at a consistent and reliable questionnaire. This will be the first evidence on how prepared mental health professionals are to respond to this critical problem.
C. Gather evidence on how professionals determine which patients present risk of harm (“violence risk assessment”), including based on their perpetration of domestic abuse. I will investigate how well violence risk assessments work, and whether future practice can be improved by combining these assessments with prediction methods, which estimate risk using patient data (workstream 1c).
D. Coordinate workshops(“Theory of change meetings”) with patients, carers, professionals, charities and wide-ranging experts about domestic abuse perpetration encountered by mental health services – what they want to know, what they think is important, and what ideas they have for improving responses to domestic abuse perpetration.
This research is funded by NIHR and will be carried out in health care and university settings from 2025-2026.REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0025
Date of REC Opinion
29 Apr 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion