Testing a Talkstory Intervention to create Supportive and Safe Violence-Free Communities for Women.

The purpose of this paper is to report on a community-designed and led talkstory intervention to increase awareness of intimate partner violence (IPV), decrease acceptability of IPV, and increase community leadership to address IPV. In collaboration with women engaged in prior IPV outreach and education in Hawai'i, a talkstory intervention for IPV was developed, and a single-group, pre-post-test design was used to test it. The intervention included five talkstory sessions over seven months with community groups interested in violence prevention. Pre- and post-testing were conducted to determine changes in group means on three measures. Ninety-two individuals participated in the intervention, 77 (84%) of these completed the 1-month follow-up measure, and 59 (64%) of these also completed the 6-month follow-up measure. The findings included: (1) participants in the talkstory intervention groups decreased their acceptability of violence and increased their awareness, knowledge, and confidence to address IPV; (2) the community leaders in the intervention groups gained skills in facilitation; and (3) intervention groups continued to sponsor other IPV awareness-raising activities in their communities following completion of the study. Working with community leaders to design and facilitate the intervention not only provided IPV education within the context of the community, but also led to sustainable efforts to enhance the safety and wellbeing of women experiencing violence.

Engaging Native Hawaiians and Pilipinos in creating supportive and safe violence-free communities for women through a piloted "talkstory" intervention: Implications for program development.

In Hawaii, 20% of women have been victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). Although disaggregated data specific to Native Hawaiians or Pilipinos (The official Filipino language recognizes both Filipino (Filipina) and Pilipino (Pilipina) as terms for the citizens of the country. Participants in this study chose to use the terms Pilipino (Pilipina). Retrieved from: www.pilipino-express.com/history-a-culture/in-other-words) are limited, greater than 70% of women murdered in Hawaii as a result of IPV are Pilipino or native Hawaiian. A consortium was formed to assist Native Hawaiian and Pilipino women addressing abuse and strengthening support from the community. A quasi-experimental community-based participatory research study was designed to assess a community "talkstory" intervention for IPV. "Talkstory" refers to informal gatherings considered to be a laid-back conversation involving a "reciprocal exchange of thoughts, ideas, feelings about self, and other issues" (Affonso et al., 1996. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 25, 738). This article describes the development of an intervention to address IPV in Hawaii and presents the findings obtained from the pilot studies. Results from the pilot study were used to modify the proposed "talkstory" intervention, revise the data collection tools, and provide the program developers with insights into how the community viewed IPV. The most significant change was an increased perception of their awareness, knowledge, and confidence to address IPV following the intervention.

Cognitive trauma therapy for battered women with PTSD (CTT-BW).

This article describes a second treatment-outcome study of cognitive trauma therapy for battered women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; CTT-BW). CTT-BW includes trauma history exploration: PTSD education; stress management; exposure to abuse and abuser reminders; self-monitoring of negative self-talk; cognitive therapy for guilt; and modules on self-advocacy, assertiveness, and how to identify perpetrators. One hundred twenty-five ethnically diverse women were randomly assigned to immediate or delayed CTT-BW. PTSD remitted in 87% of women who completed CTT-BW, with large reductions in depression and guilt and substantial increases in self-esteem. White and ethnic minority women benefited equally from CTT-BW. Similar treatment outcomes were obtained by male and female therapists and by therapists with different levels of education and training. Gains were maintained at 3- and 6-month follow-ups.