Domestic Abuse Occupational Therapy: A Project in Response to COVID-19

Background

The increased incidence of domestic abuse, following Coronavirus, jeopardizes service user’s physical and emotional wellbeing and affects daily social and cognitive function, affecting relationships, employment and daily living skills. Oliver et al., (2019) estimated the cost of domestic abuse to the economy as £34,015 per victim, per year.

The Occupational Therapy Department within the East area of BCUHB were successful in securing funding from the Elizabeth Casson Trust for a Band 5 Occupational Therapist, experienced in domestic abuse, to work within the local DASU. Our intention was to provide rehabilitation, through Occupational Therapy, to victims of domestic abuse, allowing them to re-engage in daily social, educational, occupational, behavioural and cognitive activities, helping to rebuild their identity and life.

Project Aims

This project aimed to provide an Occupational Therapy service, co-located within DASU to:

1. Provide early intervention and mental health rehabilitation ’upstream’, embedding self-management strategies to support wellbeing into daily routines, for people recovering from the trauma of domestic abuse.

2. Use a person-centred approach to identify individually meaningful occupational goals for daily living following domestic abuse, overcoming barriers, and enabling development of occupational identity through meaningful activity and roles within home, family and community life.

3. Harness a network of health, social care and third sector providers to deliver appropriate prudent support to individuals seen.

Challenges

This new service took additional time to establish due to the ongoing ‘lock down’ for COVID-19. Service users had to prioritise home schooling, and had difficulty attending 1:1 appointments. Not all service users were able to use virtual support, dependent on their ability to have privacy and access to digital technology. Many community activities, supports and 3rd sector services remained closed or with limited virtual programmes. Consequently, no group work was offered and networking with partners was done in small groups and remotely.

In addition, it became apparent through the project, that prudence would be improved through employing additional Occupational Therapy Assistant Practitioners, to support practice of skills developed within therapy.

Key Outcomes

Approximately 500 people from partner organisations contacted, influenced or educated about Domestic Abuse, the Domestic Abuse Safety Unit and service, and the role of the Domestic Abuse Occupational Therapist

Feedback from multidisciplinary/ agency colleagues within and without DASU has evidenced the positive impact of the Domestic Abuse Occupational Therapist on moral, engagement and multi-agency working (Click on link below)

Documents and processes for use within an Occupational Therapy pathway, from referral through to discharge have been created for this service, in readiness to adopt and spread the service across Wales.

30 people have been seen by the Occupational Therapist across the period of the project pilot. All of working age, and all female. (Click on link below)

8 onward referrals made to manage significant risk.

20* people engaged with Occupational Therapy intervention. *(1 person declined to complete scores)

15 people made significant* improvement with their ability to perform their chosen occupations as measured with the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) (Carswell, A. et al. 2004). See Chart 1

*(A score of 2 or over is considered statistically significant as measured by the COPM).

Chart 1. Changes in ‘Performance’ scores for people following Occupational Therapy intervention on the COPM.

18 people made significant improvement with their satisfaction with their ability to perform chosen occupations as measured with the COPM (Carswell, A. et al. 2004). See Chart 2.

(A score of 2 or over is considered statistically significant as measured by the COPM).

Chart 2. Changes in ‘Satisfaction with performance’ scores for people following Occupational Therapy intervention on the COPM

Occupational Therapy intervention resulted in progress with goals:

A thematic analysis of all personalised occupational goals, set by individuals, identified eight themes.
(Click on link for more information)

It is interesting to note that 43% of the goals identified by service users pertained to managing symptoms and carrying out an important role such as being a worker, student, or parent.

Quotes from service users illustrated progress with being able to perform personalised goals against the eight themes:

Cope with symptoms

Hold and carry out an important role (worker, student, parent)

Establish a routine

Look after myself

Find enjoyment

Have and look after my home

See friends

Have confidence to get out

Occupational Therapy intervention resulted in improved ‘Satisfaction with performance’

The combined effect of managing every day activities improved overall satisfaction with performance and quality of life.

Occupational Therapy saved significant costs to the economy in line with Prudent Principles

On average, the person living with domestic abuse, experiences the cycle of violence 36 times while exiting and re-establishing the relationship seven times before the relationship is finally over. This is catastrophic to employment, housing needs, health service and the legal system.

Domestic abuse costs the economy approx. £34,015 per victim per year
(Oliver et al., 2019).

The cost to the economy associated with health costs addressing emotional harms and lost output alone range between £3,610 and £308,510 per victim per annum, dependent on the severity of the abuse, extent of harms, and the level of earnings of the individual.

Consequently, providing upstream early intervention and therapy to support return to daily activities such as work, and improving emotional wellbeing and resilience will have a significant impact.

Total savings to the economy for the 15 people who made significant progress with daily living having completed OT intervention is £510,225 as calculated from this data, representing a significant return on investment for 1 band 5 Occupational Therapist!

If all currently undergoing Occupational Therapy have the predicted outcomes with the COPM then this equates to total savings to the economy of £510,225.

Case Study

Mair (pseudonym) presented to DASU after ending an abusive relationship that she had tried and failed to leave, several times, over 7 years. Download the PDF below to see how Occupational Therapy intervention helped her to move on, and make this the last time.

Next Steps

We are exploring further funding streams to continue and expand the project across BCUHB, with the Occupational Therapy service providing clinical governance and acting in partnership with domestic abuse service providers, such as DASU. A service specification and training resource to support Occupational Therapists, who undertake such work, are in draft form.

Our Exemplar Experience

It has been fascinating, all-consuming and a steep learning curve to deliver this project. The Bevan exemplar education programme has been supportive, helping me to keep on track and developed my skills, helping me to manage, supervise, support and lead the Occupational Therapist providing the service. I would recommend the programme to anyone developing a prudent innovation within the NHS.

Showcase

Thank You Elizabeth Casson Trust

A full report was completed for the Elizabeth Casson Trust. This can be found in the PDF below:

Contact

Lucy.Clarke2@wales.nhs.uk

Kim.Jonesa5d87@wales.nhs.uk