Title: Preventing Domestic Abuse for Children (PEACH)
Funder: Department of Health (England)

Abstract: The study will comprise a mixed knowledge review with three phases: a systematic mixed methods literature review a mapping study of current practice and a consultation phase.Target Population: children and young people under 18 in the general population.Interventions: educational programmes media and community campaigns aimed at raising young people’s awareness of domestic abuse and reducing their susceptibility to harm from domestic abuse in both their own and their parents’ interpersonal relationships.The study will have 3 overlapping phases: 1. Literature review: The applicants will harness their knowledge of work in this field to search electronic databases key journals reference lists and websites. A search strategy will be devised in collaboration with 3 Advisory Groups. The review will include relevant material in all languages (translation will be used where required) published since 1990 comprising meta-analyses research reviews controlled studies before-and-after studies and independent case evaluations. Recent reviews of prevention of different forms of violence have identified between 16 and 52 relevant studies. These reviews have not however included ‘grey’ literature which will be included in our review (much UK material is only available in this form). In-house evaluations will be excluded. All studies meeting the inclusion criteria will be subject to quality assessment using a tool relevant to the methods used. Back-chaining of the reference lists of included studies will take place before the inclusion list is finalized Three topics will be addressed in the analysis of the included literature: study and outcome description; costs and cost-effectiveness; and views and experiences. Differences in important subgroups such as gender will be explicitly identified and logged A realist review approach will provide the framework for the analysis based on the approach used by Greenhalgh et al (2007). For the study and outcome description six intersecting narrative analyses will be performed to include mapping of study characteristics creation of logic models to examine the theoretical basis of each type of programme of intervention description of the outcomes assessed across the whole dataset narrative summary of the effectiveness of all programme types against each outcome and of all the outcomes assessed in each programme. We will record all data on cost and cost-effectiveness identified in the literature review. Cost data are likely to include the cost of interventions societal costs and potential savings from the implementation of preventive interventions. Cost-effectiveness analyses may relate costs and outcomes. For comparative purposes cost will be adjusted for inflation and presented in local currency and sterling using appropriate exchange rates. The quality of economic studies will be assessed using a pro forma developed from established appraisal tools. Data describing views and experiences will be tabulated separately. Quantitative data will be summarized narratively based on a simple thematic overview of the areas covered by the data collection processes in each study and across the studies. Good quality qualitative data will be synthesised employing a meta-synthesis approach (based on meta-ethnographic techniques) using reciprocal and refutational translation and line of argument synthesis.2. Mapping study: to determine what preventive initiatives are currently being delivered in the UK to which groups by whom and to what extent and to identify any additions to the evidence base. A stratified sample of 18 local authorities will be developed using police figures for domestic abuse incidents to ensure inclusion of local authorities with high medium and low rates of domestic abuse. In each local authority an on-line survey will be undertaken of schools and other educational establishments (including Pupil Referral Units); sexual health services; domestic violence forums/partnerships and Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards. Key local collaborators will be identified with assistance of organisations such as the Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) Association who will assist in distribution of the survey. The survey will address questions including: nature of preventive initiative format context target group content structure facilitators uptake funding and evaluation.3. Consultation: Individual interviews to establish the relevance and acceptability of different approaches will be undertaken with 12/15 key informants from the policy campaigning education health and voluntary sectors identified with the assistance of the advisory groups and from the researchers’ networks. Telephone interviews will be held with a small number of key informants from N America and Australia where interventions are more developed. Since the area addressed by this scoping study is broad covering a range of professional groups and disciplines the study will benefit from the advice of 3 advisory groups convened to provide expertise in the field facilitate access to networks and to advise on research design. These 3 groups will be convened at 3 key stages: at the outset; at completion of the mapping study and to comment on study findings.The Advisory Group for Education will address the evidence on educational programmes and will be convened by the PSHE Association. The Advisory Group for Media and Community Initiatives will examine community education campaigns social marketing campaigns and the media (including the internet) campaigns as well as community and social marketing initiatives and will be convened by Women’s Aid. The Young People’s Advisory Group will be recruited from an established young people’s participation group with experience of being consulted on similar issues. This group will provide young people’s perspectives on key questions to be addressed the scope of the study and on emerging findings.Outputs: The evidence will be synthesized to create a framework of effective and cost-effective interventions that also addresses their acceptability and applicability in the UK context. The synthesized data will be mapped together narratively and graphically to illustrate commonalities and differences between the data sets and to identify where particular strategies have been used successfully with particular groups of children and young people in the search for what works for who in what circumstances. The study findings will inform policy practice and future research addressing which interventions should be investigated and how target population groups and potential outcome measures. In addition to a project report papers will be produced for relevant peer reviewed journals and findings will be presented to a range of professional policy and research audiences.Timetable: The 3 phases of the study will run in parallel over 18 months. The 3 meetings of the advisory groups will represent key milestones at months 3 12 and 18.


Research activity codes: 3.1 PRIMARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS TO MODIFY BEHAVIOURS OR PROMOTE WELL-BEING
Health categories: DISPUTED AETIOLOGY AND OTHER