The effect of solution-focused counseling on violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence

Course overview

This course is based upon material published in the BMC pregnancy and childbirth and is available as an open-access article. Background: Domestic violence during pregnancy as one of the most common social problems and major challenges of health systems can affect the health of the mother and fetus. The study aimed to compare the two groups of intervention based on solution-focused counseling and control in terms of violence and quality of life amounts in women who had experienced domestic violence. Methods: A randomized controlled trial on 90 pregnant women was blocked into two intervention groups (n = 45) and a control (n = 45). The intervention group received six counseling sessions with a solution-focused approach. Study tool included conflict tactics scale (CTS- 2) and short form health survey (SF-36). The tools were completed once before the intervention and again 6 weeks after the end of the counseling sessions by the participants of both groups. The P-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 82/90 pregnant women were analyzed. The results showed that median and interquartile range (IQR) of physical, psychological and sexual violence significantly decreased in the intervention group than the control group (Ps = 0.001). Moreover, quality of life scores significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control group (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Solution-focused counseling could be an effective approach to reduce the amount of violence and increase the quality of life in women exposed to domestic violence. This course on violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence. The course material includes a literature review of solution-focused counseling may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Dinmohammadi, Dadashi, Ahmadnia, Janani and Kharaghani Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence. Specifically, a professional will: Describe aspects of solution-focused counseling and how it can be used to treat pregnant women at risk of domestic violence Recognize how solution-focused counseling can decrease violence against pregnant women Explain how quality of life was impacted after the intervention was introduced Citation: Dinmohammadi, S., Dadashi, M., Ahmadnia, E., Janani, L., & Kharaghani, R. (2021). The effect of solution-focused counseling on violence rate and quality of life of pregnant women at risk of domestic violence: a randomized controlled trial. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 21(1), 1-9.