A realist evaluation of a “whole health” response to domestic violence and abuse in the UK

Pell, Bethan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0786-6339, Melendez-Torres, G. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9823-4790, Buckley, Kelly ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8862-3776, Evans, Rhiannon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0239-6331 and Robinson, Amanda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5071-850X 2025. A realist evaluation of a “whole health” response to domestic violence and abuse in the UK. Violence Against Women 31 (11) , pp. 2912-2936. 10.1177/10778012241265364

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Abstract

Health Pathfinder is a multilevel system change intervention initiated to transform the health response to domestic violence and abuse in eight sites in England. The current study drew upon interviews with health professionals (n = 27) and victim-survivors (n = 20) to provide a realist account of how this intervention achieved its goals. Findings show that five change mechanisms explain why Health Pathfinder was effective as an ecological intervention: awareness, expertise, relationships, empowerment, and evidence. Positive progress in respect of each mechanism had meaningful impacts on victim-survivor experiences of enquiry, disclosure, and uptake of services and had the potential to meaningfully impact health inequities.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1077-8012
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	14 August 2024
Date of Acceptance:	23 May 2024
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2025 21:16
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/171397

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