The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) have been asked by the Department of Health to develop public health guidance on ‘Domestic violence: how social care, health services and those they work with can identify, prevent and reduce domestic violence.  An evidence review is being conducted to address the key questions that are set out in the scope.

• Scope

We would like to receive details of evidence that relates to the questions below (taken from the scope p.7).

Question 1: What types of intervention or approach are effective and cost effective in preventing domestic violence from ever happening in the first place (that is, primary prevention)?

Expected outcomes: Qualitative and quantitative outcomes include: raised awareness of domestic violence, reduced incidence of domestic violence, attitudinal change, knowledge of support services and reporting.

Question 2: What types of intervention or approach are effective and cost effective in helping all those working in health and social care to safely identify and, where appropriate, intervene to prevent, domestic violence? Examples may include collaborative partnerships, advice and information-sharing protocols and specialised training, both on-the-job and pre-entry.

Expected outcomes: Qualitative and quantitative outcomes including increased detection of domestic violence and increased reporting of it by/among professionals.

Question 3: What types of intervention or approach are effective and cost effective in helping all those working in health and social care to respond to domestic violence? This may include interventions and approaches to assess and improve someone’s safety, reduce the risk of harm, support their recovery and prevent a perpetrator reoffending. It may also include collaborative partnerships and advice and information-sharing protocols.

Expected outcomes:

Quantitative outcomes include: improved referral mechanisms, increased use of services, a reduction in domestic violence, improved health and quality of life outcomes.

Qualitative outcomes include: victims and survivors feeling safe and in control, improvements in their psychological health and respectful and/or improved relationships.

Question 4: What types of intervention and approach are effective and cost effective in identifying and responding to children who are exposed to domestic violence in the various settings identified? (That is, the violence is not perpetrated on them directly but they witness or experience it.) Interventions could include collaborative partnerships and advice and information-sharing protocols.

Expected outcomes:

Quantitative outcomes include: improved behavioural, developmental, educational and mental health outcomes.

Qualitative outcomes for victims and survivors may include: improved self-confidence and better long-term outcomes for children (being healthy, keeping safe, improved school attendance, developing positive behaviours).

Question 5: What are the most effective and cost-effective types of partnership and partnership approaches for assessing and responding to domestic violence?

Expected outcomes: Improved levels of coordination between services, increased numbers of appropriate referrals, comprehensive communication strategies.

We are interested in identifying studies that have been published since 2000 or any ongoing research that is being conducted that relates to the review questions outlined above. We are interested in a broad range of different types of evidence. It may be quantitative or qualitative research. The studies may be published (either in print or online) in journals, texts or monographs, or unpublished.

Please note that the following material is not eligible for consideration:

• Promotional material.
• Unsubstantiated or non-evidence-based assertions of effectiveness.
• Evidence on violence against children (that is, violence against children by adults, or peer violence in children outside of intimate relationships or family relationships), paid carers who abuse vulnerable older people, abuse outside of intimate and family relationships and female genital mutilation.
• Opinion pieces
• Forms with attachments of published material, or hard copy of published material

Published material

Please send either full reference details (which are to include author/s, title, date, journal or publication details including volume and issue number and page numbers), not a PDF/WORD attachment or hard copy, using this form by 5pm on 2 March 2012 to DomesticViolence@nice.org.uk

Unpublished material

If you are aware of ongoing trials/research relevant to our questions which are in progress please could you help us to identify that information by providing relevant information such as a link to a registered trial with the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Clinical Trials).

If you wish to submit academic in confidence material i.e. written but not yet published, or commercial in confidence i.e. internal documentation, please could you highlight which sections are confidential by using the highlighter function in Word.

Please use this form to send any relevant evidence details by 5pm on 2 March 2012 to DomesticViolence@nice.org.uk

We look forward to receiving information on this and thank you in advance for your help.