5 Recommendations for research

5 Recommendations for research

The Programme Development Group (PDG) recommends that the following research questions should be addressed. It notes that 'effectiveness' in this context relates not only to the size of the effect, but also to cost effectiveness and duration of effect. It also takes into account any harmful or negative side effects.

5.1 How effective are programmes that aim to prevent domestic violence and abuse from ever happening in the first place? This includes media-based public health awareness campaigns. It also includes social movements to establish people's rights, and community-building and primary prevention activities that tackle underlying assumptions in society. (Examples of the latter might include the role and status of women.)

5.2 How effective are combinations of interventions to deal with domestic violence and abuse in the short, medium and long term? Are the outcomes sustainable and do they have a beneficial effect on quality of life and health in the longer term?

5.3 How effective are the following interventions in the short, medium and long term, across various levels of risk and including diverse and marginalised groups:

  • advocacy

  • domestic abuse recovery programmes

  • perpetrator programmes

  • psychological or social interventions modified for domestic violence and abuse, including programmes for those who have suffered multiple forms of abuse and those who are still experiencing it

  • interventions for primary carers apart from mothers (for example, fathers, grandparents)

  • interventions for other family members?

5.4 What are the most appropriate ways to collect and manage data about domestic violence and abuse across the health, social care and criminal justice sectors? Is there value in collecting anonymised aggregate data, or is there a more useful method of data capture?

5.5 What type of interventions (including training and referral pathways), in diverse health care settings, provide the most effective support for practitioners working with people who are experiencing, or have experienced, domestic violence and abuse?

More detail identified during development of this guidance is provided in Gaps in the evidence.

  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)