Qualitative study of the perspectives of women with lived experience of domestic and family violence on accessing healthcare

Abstract

Aims: To explore the perceptions of women with lived experience of domestic and family violence on accessing healthcare and to identify how nurses can facilitate and support women experiencing domestic and family violence to receive the care they need.

Design: A qualitative single site study.

Methods: As part of an evaluation of a nurse-led domestic and family violence service, a 2-h focus group was conducted with four women with lived experience of domestic and family violence on 14 December 2021. The Levesque Framework provided a novel approach to identify barriers and facilitators to healthcare access. The focus group guide included eight open-ended questions. The audio recording was transcribed and analysed using Braun and Clark's thematic analysis process.

Results: The Levesque Framework helped highlight individual and structural challenges in accessing healthcare faced by women experiencing domestic and family violence. Dominant themes were first contact, comprehensiveness of services and domestic violence awareness.

Conclusion: The growing incidences of domestic and family violence are confounding communities worldwide. Despite the high profile of domestic and family violence in Australia, access to healthcare remains problematic. These preliminary findings suggest that nurses have opportunities to facilitate access in relation to the approachability, acceptability and appropriateness of services. Realizing these opportunities requires education that enables nurses' capacity to provide an effective first contact and facilitate comprehensive care by embodying a no wrong door culture. We intend to explore these concepts in future focus groups.

Impact: This study explored the factors impacting access to healthcare for women experiencing domestic and family violence. Accessing healthcare when experiencing domestic and family violence in Australia is problematic. Findings suggest that nursing has opportunities to facilitate the approachability, acceptability and appropriateness of services. These findings will be valuable to nurses across all healthcare settings, nursing education providers and health workforce planners.

Keywords: access to healthcare; domestic and family violence; focus group; intimate partner violence; nurses; nursing; qualitative; thematic analysis.