Megan Holmes, associate professor and founding director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity, and Laura Voith, assistant professor at the Jack Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, will present the next Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods (PRCHN) Research Seminar Series event.
Holmes and Voith will give a talk titled “The Intersection of Domestic Violence and Health: Integrating a Trauma-Informed Perspective” Wednesday, May 8, at noon in BioEnterprise Building, Room B-03 (PRCHN meeting room).
Talk details
National estimates indicate 27.3% of women and 11.5% of men report experiencing domestic violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime. Compounding this public health issue, the majority of women experiencing domestic violence also have children. An astonishing number of adverse health outcomes have been linked to domestic violence victimization and exposure, which has important implications for clinicians.
Given the high prevalence of domestic violence, particularly among patients seeking care in primary-care settings, and the associated medical and societal costs of domestic violence, it is critical to address this public health problem. Physicians, nurses, social workers—all health care providers—are in an ideal position to identify individuals experiencing domestic violence and provide them and their families with appropriate trauma-informed care and referral information. Trauma-informed care is an approach that realizes the potential for an individual’s exposure to trauma, recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms, and acknowledges the role trauma may play in an individual’s life through behavior, beliefs and worldview.
In their presentation, Holmes and Voith will discuss:
- The prevalence of domestic violence and the effect on a person’s physical and behavioral health;
- How a history of domestic violence affects an individual’s engagement and use of primary-care services; and
- How to integrate a trauma-informed care perspective using practical skills that align with the practice of good medicine and promote an individual’s comfort and engagement in primary care.
About the speakers
Megan R. Holmes is an associate professor of social work and founding director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. She has nearly 15 years of clinical practice and research experience working in the field of child exposure to domestic violence, which continues to be a serious and highly prevalent social problem that can negatively affect children’s behavioral and mental health outcomes, both in the short term and over the life course.
The overarching goal of Holmes’ work is to contribute to the optimal development of children who have been exposed to domestic violence by identifying risk and protective factors that can be translated into interventions. Her current research also focuses on creating community and system responses to trauma that promote relational health and healing throughout Cleveland and the state of Ohio.
Laura A. Voith is an assistant professor of social work and faculty affiliate of the Center on Trauma and Adversity at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Her program of research applies a trauma-focused, health-equity and developmental lens to address the prevention and intervention of intimate partner violence with youth and adults at risk for violent perpetration, with special attention given to the development of boys and men.
She also examines how the interaction between environments, such as neighborhoods, and individuals can exacerbate or buffer violence between intimate partners. The aim of this research is to develop and improve upon violence prevention and intervention programs, particularly programs with at-risk youth and batterer intervention programs with men.
Series details
The PRCHN Research Seminar Series takes place on the second Wednesday of the month from noon to 1:15 p.m. in the BioEnterprise Building, Room B-03 (PRCHN meeting room).
All seminars are free and open to the public. Parking is available and a light lunch is served.