Nokuzola Ncube- CGS-M Application

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is any form of abuse maintained by an intimate partner with some examples including physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health guidelines were quickly implemented to decrease the spread of this highly contagious disease. However, one unintended consequence of stay-at-home orders and physical distancing requirements was an increased risk of IPV exposure and severity for women. Increases in IPV exposure and severity were accompanied by changes in access to mental health services including shifting service delivery from in-person to virtual appointments. There is limited research on the effect of these shifts in mental health services on women who are experiencing IPV in terms of both access and satisfaction with services. As such, the proposed cross-sectional study aims to examine mental health service access and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic amongst women who have experienced IPV/are experiencing IPV in Ontario as measured by(1) the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8) and (2) the Barriers to Access to Care (BACEv3). To achieve this, 42 women who are experiencing IPV or have experienced IPV in the last 12 months will be recruited through Kijiji. To be eligible for this study, women have to had experienced IPV in the past 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, live in Ontario, be over the age of 18, and have access to a safe computer/telephone number. Data analysis will allow to compute measures of central tendency, dispersion, and correlational relationships. Findings from this study aim to inform how various mental health services can best support women who are experiencing intimate partner violence during a pandemic.