Comparing Face-to-Face and Email Intervention for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Survivors: Technologies Influence Nursing

Purpose: The purpose of the study to explore the use of  email-delivered HELPP intervention and compare it with a face-to-face delivered intervention focused on health, education, and legal information/services (HELLP)  was designed for IPV survivors.  As the conceptual framework, the Ecological Model (EM) by the World Health Organization (WHO) targeted the personal, interpersonal, and community domains of women surviving IPV. Specific problems within domains included the: personal domain (anxiety and depression); interpersonal (anger and personal support); and community (social support) 

Methods: A mixed methods design was employed. The quantitative data from the Promise short form (PROMIS Cooperative Group, 2008), the Personal Resource Questionnaire (PRQ) (Brandt & Weinert, 1981) and The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL)(Cohen & Hoberman, 1983) were analyzed using T-test, and   ANOVA. . The Health, Education on Safety, and Legal Support Participant Preferred Intervention (HELPP) was delivered weekly online and face-to-face for six weeks.

Results: The HELPP intervention (1) significantly decreased anxiety (p<0.05), depression (p<0.05), and anger (p<0.05) and (2) significantly increased personal and social support (p,<0.05) in the Email group compared with the face-to-face group. 

Conclusions: The HELPP information and intervention was shown to be feasible, acceptable, and effective among IPV survivors compared to participants in the Email and face-to-face groups with much more significant outcomes in the email group.. Given the increased use of online and mobile health intervention, we need to find best evidence in delivering interventions in the most economical, feasible, and timely manner. Further research could be conducted to determine if email alone or email plus mobile devices are more useful to deliver the HELPP intervention and influence the delivery of nursing care globally.