Overview and Purpose

Latina women have disproportionately higher rates of poverty, stresses related to acculturation and discrimination, and higher vulnerability to intimate partner violence (IPV) than European American women. Two major factors contribute to continued IPV-related health disparities in Latina women. First, most IPV intervention studies have focused on European American women rather than on women of color. Second, intervention models are often tied to the use of formal health and social services, such as domestic violence shelters, health care and law enforcement agencies-formal systems that may not meet the needs of women of color. Indeed, the few interventions addressing IPV have been conducted with primarily European American women in formal help-seeking settings that Latina women are known to under-use because they lack health insurance or because of language and cultural barriers and distrust of formal systems. Thus, Latina women require intervention services in nontraditional arenas. An innovative approach to reducing health disparities is to develop and evaluate IPV interventions in service organizations (e.g. food service, custodial, home care and childcare agencies) where Latina women are frequently employed. In this four-year study, we will develop and evaluate an innovative community-partnered IPV intervention model targeting employed immigrant and US-born Latina women survivors of IPV.

Consistent with the recognized need to move away from single-factor approaches to reducing health disparities, the study intervention will be guided by a conceptual framework that targets the multiple levels--individual, organizational, community and public policy--that influence and support IPV and health disparities. We will combine qualitative and quantitative techniques with community partners and stakeholders. Focus groups and surveys will be conducted to gain information on effective intervention strategies from the perspectives of all those involved: battered women, employees, employers and IPV perpetrators. Further, culturally competent domestic violence advocates, Latino health leaders, health care providers, service organization and union leaders will inform the development, dissemination and evaluation of the IPV training and resource materials designed to increase Latino women's safety and access to community resources.

The study is funded by the National Institutes for Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)-1 R01 NR0008771-01

Study partners: Susannah Maria Gurule (SMG) Latino Health Foundation, Volunteers of American, Home Free Program, Multnomah County Domestic Violence Coordinator's Office, Portland State University, University of Oregon, Labor Education and Research Center.

Project contact information: Please feel free to contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Nancy Glass with any questions about this community-partnered study.

Nancy Glass, PhD, MPH, RN, Co-Director, Center for Health Disparities Research, 503-494-6740 or glassn@ohsu.edu.