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Influences that affect health visitors' ability to work with fathers who are perpetrators of domestic abuse

Influences that affect health visitors' ability to work with fathers who are perpetrators of domestic abuse

Laffar, Karen and Elliott, Helen ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8798-1037 (2021) Influences that affect health visitors' ability to work with fathers who are perpetrators of domestic abuse. Journal of Health Visiting, 9 (6). pp. 245-251. ISSN 2050-8719 (Print), 2052-2908 (Online) (doi:10.12968/johv.2021.9.6.246)

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Abstract

This study explores the factors influencing health visitors’ engagement with fathers known to be domestic abuse perpetrators. This qualitative study recruited seven health visitors who participated in semi-structured interviews. Collection of data was between February - March 2018. Findings showed that the health visiting service mainly focused on the mother and children without including fathers who were often ‘invisible’ to services. Other professional groups, alongside the ‘gatekeeping’ of mothers’, appeared to influence the health visitors’ perceptions of the perpetrators’ ability to be effective fathers. Due to feelings of anxiety and a lack of confidence, health visitors often avoided contact with fathers. Avoidance reduced the opportunity for health visitors to promote healthy relationships with fathers and their children.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: public health nurses; domestic abuse; fathers; qualitative research
Subjects: R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences
Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Health Sciences (HEA)
Last Modified: 25 Jul 2022 11:51
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/33421

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