Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39073552›Full record

ArticleCanadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique2024

The mental health of staff at violence against women organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a mixed-methods study of service providers in Canada's largest city.

Bridget Steele, Priya Shastri, Catherine Moses, Elizabeth Tremblay, Monique Arcenal, Patricia O'Campo, Robin Mason, Janice Du Mont, Maria Hujbregts, Amanda Sim and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Bridget SteeleDepartment of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. bridget.steele@dal.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-2028-558X
Priya ShastriWoman Abuse Council of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Catherine MosesWoman Abuse Council of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Elizabeth TremblayWoman Abuse Council of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Monique ArcenalWoman Abuse Council of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Patricia O'CampoDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Robin MasonDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Janice Du MontDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Maria HujbregtsFamily Service Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Amanda SimMcMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Alexa R YakubovichDepartment of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Funding

CIHR PCS-183421
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesStaff at violence against women (VAW) organizations provide essential services for survivors of violence. The increase in VAW during the COVID-19 pandemic placed additional pressures on VAW staff. We investigated the impacts of the pandemic on the mental health of VAW staff in the Greater Toronto Area to inform recommendations for policy and practice.

methodsWe conducted a community-based, mixed-methods study on the processes, experiences, and outcomes of adapting VAW programming during the pandemic using a sequential explanatory approach. Throughout 2021, we conducted a survey of direct support and leadership staff who worked on VAW services ("VAW staff") followed by semi-structured interviews with VAW staff purposively sampled from the survey. We descriptively analyzed quantitative survey data on the mental health of 127 VAW staff. We then applied thematic analysis to qualitative data from 18 interviews with VAW staff. We used the qualitative data to support interpretation and enrich the quantitative findings regarding staff mental health.

resultsIn the survey, 81% of leadership and 61% of direct support staff indicated that their work was more distressing during the pandemic. Participants reported moderate symptoms of vicarious trauma and mild symptoms of anxiety and depression. We generated three themes from the qualitative data to help explain these findings: (1) challenges related to changing work environments; (2) distress over not meeting client needs; and (3) difficulties in adapting self-care strategies in response to pandemic stressors.

conclusionVAW organizations require increased resources and flexible funding to hire and retain more staff to respond to higher and more complex caseloads during public health emergencies. With more structural supports in place, VAW organizations could create more time and space to develop their trauma-informed organizational practices: for example, establishing a culture of connection and learning among staff virtually and in-person and facilitating a range of self-care opportunities.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelMental HealthAdultCanadaFemaleGender-Based ViolenceHumansMaleMiddle AgedOntarioPandemicsQualitative ResearchCOVID-19Mental healthMixed methodsStaffViolence against women

Identifiers

PMID39073552
PMCPMC11535010

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.