Research Presentation: johns Hopkins Bloomberg school of public health

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Research Presentationjohns Hopkins Bloomberg
school of public health
Keshia Pollack Assistant Professor Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health
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Addressing Intimate Partner Violence Through the
WorkplaceUnderstanding and Strengthening
Employee Assistance ProgramsKeshia M. Pollack,
Ph.D., MPHJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public HealthNovember 7, 2008
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Introduction

• Overview
• Goals for session

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Background and Purpose

• EAPs are a workplace resource for the prevention
  of IPV.
• Little is known about IPV services provided by
  EAPs and the experiences of women when they
  access these services.

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EAP Inventory
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Methods

• RTI International is collecting detailed
  information from 25-30 external EAPs.
• Information gathered via a detailed template,
  filled out during phone calls with key staff.
• Templates completed only for companies who offer
  some level of IPV services.
• Information complete for 12 EAPs to date.

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Preliminary Key Findings

• IPV Service Availability
• Services commonly available to the workplace
  include
• manager trainings on workplace violence in
  general.
• assistance in developing workplace violence
  policies.
• management consultation about workplacesafety
  (and specific IPV cases).

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Preliminary Key Findings (contd)

• IPV Service Availability
• Services commonly available to IPV victims
  include
• crisis counseling and safety plan development
  (for those in immediate harm).
• referrals to affiliates for short-term
  counseling.
• referrals to community IPV resources (and related
  services).
• follow-up on referrals and limited case
  management.

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Preliminary Key Findings (contd)

• Documentation of IPV cases/services
• Substantial variability across EAPs in how IPV is
  assessed (often no standardized assessment).
• Most EAPs do not have a specific code for IPV
  (typical code of either family/relationship or
  emotional/mental health) and therefore cannot
  adequately report on the extent of IPV prevalence
  or service utilization.

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Preliminary Key Findings (contd)

• Challenges associated with IPV service delivery
• Low awareness of IPV among employers.
• Confidentiality issues (particularly with
  batterers and/or companies that have
  zero-tolerance violence policies).

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Implications for Practice

• Services for IPV victims appear comprehensive
• however, there is a need for
• standardized assessments of IPV (particularly for
  situations in which IPV is not the presenting
  problem).
• standardized coding and reporting of IPV service
  utilization.

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Implications for Practice

• Workplace-delivered IPV services could be
• enhanced by EAPs
• educating employers on importance of IPV.
• delivering trainings, consultations, etc.,
  focused specifically on IPV (not just workplace
  violence).
• encouraging companies to customize IPV
  workplace-delivered services.

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Survey of Womens Experiences with EAPs
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Methods

• Online survey within the U.S. by Harris
  Interactive
• Between August 21 and September 22, 2008
• 1,765 employed adult women in the U.S. who have
  experienced IPV and who have access to an EAP
• The data have been weighted by age, race,
  education, income and region to reflect the
  composition of women aged 18 who are employed
  full-time or part-time.

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Terminology

• Definition of IPV
• Conditions resulting from IPV
• Lifetime (access to EAP or experienced IPV)

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Preliminary Key Findings

• Background and Outcomes of EAP Contacts
• Among EAP users, nearly half (46) of women
  contacted their EAP after being encouraged by
  someone they know 20 were encouraged by a
  manager or supervisor.
• The vast majority of EAP users (89) used the
  help they received.
• 71 of EAP users report that their work
  performance improved after contacting their
  EAP.
•  

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Preliminary Key Findings (contd)

• Satisfaction with EAPs and Areas for Improvement
• Nearly all EAP users (93) say that they would
  recommend that other women who have had similar
  experiences contact their EAPs for help.

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Preliminary Key Findings (contd)

• Barriers to EAP Use for Intimate Partner Violence
• Among women who did not contact their EAP about
  IPV experiences, the most common reasons given
  were they did not think of it (32) and were not
  comfortable talking about it (24).
• Among EAP users, confidentiality was the most
  common concern reported with two-thirds (67)
  saying they were worried that their employer
  would find out.

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Use of EAP Help
What actions did you take as a result of
contacting your EAP?
BASE CONTACTED EAP AS A RESULT OF IPV OR SIDE
EFFECT (n760) Q1000 Did you use any of the help
you received when you contacted your EAP
about? Q1005 Which of the following actions, if
any, did you take as a result of contacting your
EAP about ? Please select all that apply.
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Change in Work Performance
BASE CONTACTED EAP AS A RESULT OF IPV OR SIDE
EFFECT (n760) Q1000 Did you use any of the help
you received when you contacted your EAP
about? Q1005 Which of the following actions, if
any, did you take as a result of contacting your
EAP about ? Please select all that apply.
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Concerns Among Women
BASE CONTACTED EAP AS A RESULT OF IPV OR SIDE
EFFECT (n760) Q900 Did you have any concerns
about using your EAP before you contacted
them? BASE CONCERNED AND CONTACTED EAP AS A
RESULT OF IPV OR SIDE EFFECT (n273) Q905 Which
of the following, if any, were you concerned
about when you contacted your EAP about?
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Implications for Practice
Awareness of EAP services Advertise better.
Leave your pamphlets in high employee traffic
areas or have HR hand out and explain better. I
wasn't aware of all the benefits of EAP, I
thought it was just counseling for troubled
relationships. Location of referrals I would
have liked more referrals to mental health
care professionals in my area. I was given
several names, but only a couple were
local. Timeliness of appointments More timely
referrals to a counselor. I was in crisis and
offered appointments 3 weeks away.
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Next Steps

• EAP Inventory
• Survey
• Implications for policy and practice
• Dissemination of findings

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Acknowledgments

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• RTI International Monique Clinton-Sherrod,
  Christine Lindquist, Tasseli McKay, Beth Lasater
• Harris Interactive Michele Solomon, Allison
  Dickin
• JA Grisso
• Kim Wells
• Douglas Leach
• Whitney Austin
• EAP Advisory Group and other experts

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Questions/Comments
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