Clinicians' Perceptions of North Carolina's 10-Year Primary Prevention Plan
Date of Conferral
2016
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Mario Castro
Abstract
The cost of domestic and intimate partner violence (DIPV) exceeded $8 billion annually on a national level, and North Carolina spent $307 million on DIPV and DIPV-related mental health care. Studies have shown a correlation between DIPV, mental illness, and substance abuse. North Carolina was found to have higher than normal risk factors for DIPV. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) to develop the NCCADV 10-year primary prevention plan. This study investigated clinicians' perceptions of the effectiveness of the plan. Phenomenological thought served as the conceptual framework. A purposive sample of 10 clinicians who worked in the region with DIPV clients in the preceding 12 months responded to semistructured interview questions that investigated their perceptions of whether the 10-year plan had a positive influence on victims and if the plan could potentially impact victims' future mental health and substance use behaviors. Interview data were transcribed, open coded, and thematically analyzed with the aid of qualitative software. Study results indicated that these clinicians believed the plan did not impact DIPV clients' current behaviors and was unlikely to have a future impact. A policy recommendation in the form of a position paper resulted from the findings, which recommended the use of mass media that encompass old and new technologies to promote primary prevention efforts by stakeholders and practitioners for the general public. This study has implications for positive social change in that it may provide knowledge to clinicians and stakeholders at the study site that aids them in understanding and preventing DIPV, in addition to promoting an overall increase in public awareness of the negative effects of DIPV.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Carol L., "Clinicians' Perceptions of North Carolina's 10-Year Primary Prevention Plan" (2016). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 2664.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2664
