"How Do You Do, What You Do?" E.D. Staff Reflections on Supporting Victims of 'Choking' (VIRTUAL)
Tracks
Ballroom Two
| Wednesday, December 1, 2021 |
| 1:20 PM - 1:40 PM |
Overview
Mrs Danielle Allen & Ms Kathleen Shaw, Western Nsw Local Health District
Speaker
Mrs Danielle Allen
Senior Domestic And Family Violence Pathway Coordinator
Western Nsw Local Health District
"How Do You Do, What You Do?" E.D. Staff Reflections on Supporting Victims of 'Choking' (VIRTUAL)
Abstract
Sharing preliminary research findings from 'How do you do what you do?' - a NSW state-wide research project exploring what enables Emergency Department staff to respond to and support domestic and family violence victims who have experienced non-fatal strangulation.
Supported by Western NSW Health and the Health Education and Training Institute (HETI), this study is shining a light on the experiences of health staff who are increasingly supporting victims of non-fatal strangulation. Non-fatal strangulation is a potentially life-threatening form of physical assault, commonly occurring in high-risk domestic violence relationships. Non-fatal strangulation is an indicator of increased risk of homicide in a violent relationship. Emergency Department staff are well placed to provide both thorough medical and psychosocial risk assessments for such victims, however how often is this really occurring?
Semi structured interviews with a range of NSW Health Emergency Department staff from rural, regional and metropolitan settings will be conducted during August - October 2021. This qualitative research aims to explore how NSW Health staff do this confronting work and what tools, resources and practises help them to do this successfully. This presentation will provide an insight into staff perspectives on what system improvements are needed to ensure staff feel confident to respond, how they view health’s role in interagency collaboration to support victims and give practise tips for those trying to improve service responses.
In a groundswell of interest in the sector to improve responses to victims of non- fatal strangulation, this study highlights what is happening at the health coalface. This research explores what formal and informal supports are needed for workers to sustain improved service responses.
Sharing the preliminary findings of this study is important in a climate of evolving policy and procedural guideline development for the management of non-fatal strangulation. This presentation will be of interest to service managers, front line staff, policy makers and researchers.
Supported by Western NSW Health and the Health Education and Training Institute (HETI), this study is shining a light on the experiences of health staff who are increasingly supporting victims of non-fatal strangulation. Non-fatal strangulation is a potentially life-threatening form of physical assault, commonly occurring in high-risk domestic violence relationships. Non-fatal strangulation is an indicator of increased risk of homicide in a violent relationship. Emergency Department staff are well placed to provide both thorough medical and psychosocial risk assessments for such victims, however how often is this really occurring?
Semi structured interviews with a range of NSW Health Emergency Department staff from rural, regional and metropolitan settings will be conducted during August - October 2021. This qualitative research aims to explore how NSW Health staff do this confronting work and what tools, resources and practises help them to do this successfully. This presentation will provide an insight into staff perspectives on what system improvements are needed to ensure staff feel confident to respond, how they view health’s role in interagency collaboration to support victims and give practise tips for those trying to improve service responses.
In a groundswell of interest in the sector to improve responses to victims of non- fatal strangulation, this study highlights what is happening at the health coalface. This research explores what formal and informal supports are needed for workers to sustain improved service responses.
Sharing the preliminary findings of this study is important in a climate of evolving policy and procedural guideline development for the management of non-fatal strangulation. This presentation will be of interest to service managers, front line staff, policy makers and researchers.
Biography
Danielle is a Social Worker with NSW Health with 23 years experience working in metro, regional and rural settings. She is a Safer Pathway Co-ordinator in Western NSW Local Health District. Danielle is the Principal Coordinating Researcher for a current project ‘An exploration of what enables New South Wales Health Emergency Department staff to treat and support domestic and family violence victims who have experienced non-fatal strangulation’. She recently received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to learn from the experts in the USA and Canada who are leading the way with integrated collaborative responses to victims of non-fatal strangulation.
Ms Kathleen Shaw
Domestic Violence Project Officer
Population Health & Planning
"How Do You Do, What You Do?" E.D. Staff Reflections on Supporting Victims of 'Choking' (VIRTUAL)
Abstract
Please see Danielle Allen
Biography
Kathleen Shaw is a Registered Nurse with almost 20 years Emergency Department experience, including a post graduate qualification in Emergency Nursing. She is currently undertaking a post graduate qualification in Integrated Violence Abuse and Neglect Interventions and for the last 4 years she has worked as a Domestic Violence Project Officer in Northern NSW Local Health District. This work has included raising awareness around how to respond to victim-survivors in the Emergency Department and she and her team were awarded the NNSWLHD Agency for CIinical Innovation Award in 2019 for ‘Improving Domestic Violence Identification and Response in the Emergency Department’.
Kathleen is co-researcher for a current project ‘An exploration of what enables New South Wales Health Emergency Department staff to treat and support domestic and family violence victims who have experienced non-fatal strangulation’. Kathleen is passionate about strengthening responses that Emergency Departments provide to victim-survivors of Domestic Violence.
