NURS-FPX4050 Assessment 1: Preliminary Care Coordination Plan

Assessment 01 – Preliminary Care Coordination Plan

A preliminary care coordination plan integrates diverse healthcare strategies to optimize the quality of patient care. Implementing a coordination framework is essential for achieving optimal outcomes in patient care, as it empowers both patients and their families (Heron & Eisma, 2021). Creating an efficient care plan to tackle significant patient challenges is imperative in healthcare. The plan effectively addresses the challenges and issues experienced by patients and their families. This paper aims to create an initial care coordination plan for domestic violence, encompassing physical, psychosocial, and cultural factors. Additionally, it seeks to identify and compile a comprehensive list of community resources that can contribute to a safe and efficient continuum of care for individuals affected by domestic violence.

Domestic Violence

Approximately 33% of women and 25% of men encounter instances of domestic violence. Domestic violence exacerbates the management of chronic health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Domestic abusers may restrict their partners’ access to necessary social services, medical care, and mental health services. Violence encompasses multiple manifestations, including physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological forms (Vieira et al., 2020). Intimate partner violence affects individuals across diverse racial, cultural, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Nevertheless, communities of color and other marginalized groups bear a disproportionate burden of the impact caused by this violence.  Factors such as economic instability, unsafe housing, neighborhood violence, and insufficient access to safe and stable child care and social support can intensify intimate partner violence and impede the ability of victims to leave abusive situations.

Children who experience domestic violence have an increased likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system in the future, either during their adolescence or adulthood. In 2019, approximately 1 in 7 children encountered instances of child abuse or neglect, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of approximately 1,840 children (Feder et al., 2021).  Children in poverty have a significantly higher likelihood of experiencing abuse or neglect, with a fivefold increase in risk. Approximately 47% of individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 in tribal communities accessed mental health services after undergoing screening, receiving a referral, or experiencing a suicide attempt.

Best Practice

In all jurisdictions of the United States, it is generally assumed or presumed that mandated treatment is included as part of the sentence in domestic abuse cases (Heron & Eisma, 2021). The predominant treatment model utilized in state-sanctioned programs is commonly referred to as the Duluth model. The mandatory intervention program, lasting 12-52 weeks, is implemented after an arrest and assumes that males, influenced by patriarchal values, predominantly commit battery. Offenders are prohibited from engaging in conjoint therapy with victims until they have fulfilled the required treatment.

The effectiveness of the Duluth model in domestic abuse interventions has not been empirically substantiated despite its widespread dominance. Multiple studies have reported underwhelming treatment outcomes of the model. Kiani et al. (2021) found limited benefits of the intervention on arrest outcomes. Heron and Eisma (2021) observed high dropout rates among court-referred individuals, which poses a significant risk to victims. Furthermore, individuals who are at the greatest risk of reoffending are those who are younger, unmarried, unemployed, and have a prior history of violence within the community. These individuals also demonstrate a lower likelihood of completing treatment. Failed treatments can be more detrimental than no treatment, as they can lead to a false sense of security for victims, thereby increasing their vulnerability to ongoing risks.

Specific Goals

To provide a secure and efficient continuum of care to domestic violence victims, it is essential to define a set of objectives aimed at reducing the occurrences of domestic violence and attending to the needs of domestic violence victims in order to enhance their health and overall welfare. This practice employs advocacy interventions to empower victims of domestic violence. The Domestic Abuse Intervention Project was the inaugural multi-agency initiative created to tackle the problem of domestic violence. The intervention aims to achieve three specific goals: facilitating domestic violence victims’ access to essential services in their local community, reducing or preventing instances of abuse by 50%, and enhancing the physical and psychological well-being of victims within a six-month timeframe following the implementation of the intervention.

Community Resource

Individuals who are caught up in domestic violence may find solace and assistance through support groups, shelters, and hotlines dedicated to the issue. The American Academy of Pediatricians provides free guidance for the history, physical examination, diagnostic testing, documentation, therapy, and legal difficulties in suspected child abuse cases (Kiani et al., 2021). The CDC offers various scales to evaluate family relationships, including those related to the risk of child abuse. Other resources that can be accessed include the Child Help: National Child Abuse Hotline, The Coalition of Labor Union Women (cluw.org), Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence, Employers Against Domestic Violence, Futures without Violence, Love Is Respect: National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, National Centre on Domestic and Sexual Violence, National Centre on Elder Abuse, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (www.ncadv.org), National Network to End Domestic Violence, and National Organization for Victim Assistance, among others.

Conclusion

It is necessary to strengthen protections in order to provide families and communities the ability to react to and prevent acts of violence, neglect, and abuse, as well as to assist those who have themselves been victims of such acts. In order to handle the whole spectrum and variety of types of abuse, trauma, violence, and neglect throughout the lifetime, the present healthcare system keeps up its efforts to encourage collaboration throughout the government.  The present healthcare system also uses data to help create new and improved neglect, abuse, and violence prevention and intervention models.

References

Feder, G., d’Oliveira, A. F. L., Rishal, P., & Johnson, M. (2021). Domestic violence during the pandemic. BMJ, 372. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n722

Heron, R. L., & Eisma, M. C. (2021). Barriers and Facilitators of Disclosing Domestic Violence to the Healthcare service: a Systematic Review of Qualitative Research. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(3), 612–630. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13282

Kiani, Z., Simbar, M., Fakari, F. R., Kazemi, S., Ghasemi, V., Azimi, N., Mokhtariyan, T., & Bazzazian, S. (2021). A systematic review: Empowerment interventions to reduce domestic violence? Aggression and Violent Behavior, 58(101585), 101585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2021.101585

Vieira, P. R., Garcia, L. P., & Maciel, E. L. N. (2020). [The increase in domestic violence during the social isolation: what does it reveals?]. Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia = Brazilian Journal of Epidemiology, 23, e200033. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-549720200033