Research Profile – Cultural Recovery
Aboriginal women help modify domestic violence intervention
Photo: Elder Roberta Price
Elder Roberta Price
Using a combination of teachings from her own cultural background (Coast Salish Snuneymux and Cowichan) and guests including other elders, Elder Roberta Price leads a weekly meeting for the women participating in the pilot of the modified version of iHEAL. The women engage in activities such as making medicine pouches, during which they learn and share traditional teachings, particularly those related to health and healing.
A domestic violence intervention program is being modified with the help of Aboriginal women to include their cultural needs.
The original program is the Intervention for Health Enhancement After Leaving (iHEAL), a 6-month long program which addresses the social and health needs of women breaking out of violent relationships. However, the program can be modified according to the population it is being used for, according to Dr. Colleen Varcoe at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Varcoe and her team developed iHEAL to help women attain the medical, psychological and social services they need to not only get out of an abusive relationship, but also to find ways to continue living safely. The program is tailored to individuals, since no two situations are the same. It includes weekly personal visits with nurses who help with, and monitor, various health issues. The nurses work in partnership with local health agencies.
“We spend a lot of time working with a woman on what’s of importance to her,” says Dr. Varcoe.
With iHEAL, women get help in several different areas, including getting basics such as food, clothing, shelter and energy for life. The intervention helps women enhance both physical and emotional safety in a variety of ways, such as helping them to be careful about whom they get close to in their personal lives. The intervention also addresses the symptoms the women may have as a consequence of experiencing violence – such as chronic pain, disability, depression and anxiety.
It also aims to help a woman develop a new idea of what her family is like.
“If you left an abusive partner, then what does your family look like now? And if you have children how do you build the family into something that is safe and healthy,” she says.
The research team has tested iHEAL in groups of women in New Brunswick and Ontario. According to Dr. Varcoe, the program showed promise in terms of a number of measures relating to physical and mental health and social support.
In their newest work, the researchers have modified iHEAL to help Aboriginal women living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Most of these women face more than just domestic violence. Many also encounter violence related to racism and severe poverty, which had to be taken into account.
At a glance
Who – Dr. Colleen Varcoe, professor of nursing, University of British Columbia.
Issue – In domestic violence, no two situations are identical. But traditional interventions tend to be “one-size-fits-all”, and rarely consider a woman’s cultural needs.
Approach – Dr. Varcoe and her team developed iHEAL, a modifiable intervention program that addresses both the social and medical needs of women leaving abusive relationships.
Impact – A version of iHEAL tailored to Aboriginal women living on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is incorporating cultural and spiritual elements into domestic violence intervention.
Dr. Varcoe and her team began by working with Aboriginal elders in the community to advise on the best approach. They also partnered with the Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS), which delivers medical, counseling and social services to the city’s Downtown Eastside Aboriginal community.
“We’ve spent at least a year trying to figure out what iHEAL would look like in an Indigenous context, and what we came up with is a somewhat different model,” she says.
The resulting model includes not only the weekly, personal visits with a nurse who works on each woman’s health and social needs; it also embraces traditional weekly ‘circle’ meetings. This is an Aboriginal approach that includes cultural teachings and is led by an elder.
A pilot study using this modified version of iHEAL was launched in the fall of 2012 with 20 Aboriginal women.
The study is ongoing, but initial reports are positive. The women in the study say that they find the circle meetings very important. By addressing their spiritual needs and revisiting their culture, the program may help them deepen their cultural identities.
After this phase of the work is complete, the researchers will try the approach with a larger group of 130 women.
“We’ve spent at least a year trying to figure out what iHEAL would look like in an Indigenous context, and what we came up is a somewhat different model.” – Dr. Colleen Varcoe, University of British Columbia.