Include DV/SA advocates as part of your multidisciplinary care team/approach. Health centers find that establishing formal partnerships with community based DV/SA programs is crucial to providing trauma-informed care for survivors. Learn more about how DV/SA programs can also work to include health centers as part of their care team.
Partnership Building Resources
- Building and Sustaining and Fruitful Partnerships Infographic
Click to Download - Sample Memorandum of Understanding
Click to Download - Case Study: Oregon Guide to Health Care Partnerships
Click to Download - DV Advocates' Guide to Partnering with Health Care
Click to Download
One of our most important accomplishments was having our [domestic violence] advocate on site and available for a warm hand-off and regular communication from the advocate for updates and education.
— Keri Scott, Former Director of Quality, The Rinehart Clinic (Wheeler, OR)
Domestic violence and sexual assault (DV/SA) advocates offer support, safety planning, and coaching to address other social determinants of health.
Local, state and Tribal DV/SA programs are integral partners to a successful team-based response to DV/SA and HT. Many DV/SA partners are equipped to provide supportive services such as translation, transportation, and legal support, which mirror the enabling services offered by health centers. DV/SA programs exist in many communities in which health centers are located and can offer a range of support to survivors identified in health centers. Such confidential patient support may include information on healthy and unhealthy relationships; emotional support; emergency and long-term safety planning; and supports related to other social determinants of health (SDOH) including housing, food insecurity and employment, as well as court and legal advocacy. DV/SA programs can provide similar services to HT survivors as well. Domestic and sexual violence coalitions, local DV/SA programs, Tribal DV/SA programs, and culturally specific community-based organizations are an integral part of any coordinated healthcare and social service response to DV/SA and HT.
Reach out to your local DV/SA program! Find a domestic violence program near you, or contact your state/territory DV coalition or Tribal DV coalition.
DV/SA advocates can connect their clients to primary health care.
Partnerships promote access to health care for survivors of violence because they may have been prevented from seeking care by their abusive partners or traffickers. In a study done by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 53% participants reported that their partner controlled and/or restricted them from accessing health care13
DV/SA programs are in a unique position to reach clients as they come in for relationship and safety support. They can:
- inquire about clients’ health and help-seeking on intake forms;
- identify whether the client has a primary health care provider and offer referrals to partnering health centers, informing clients about health center services and sliding scale fees;
- offer onsite basic support such as contraception, pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing; and
- partner with health centers to offer more robust health services onsite at DV/SA programs.
Tools to Promote Universal Education
Safety Cards
Multi-lingual and population-specific safety cards. The resources panel may be localized by adding in a local DV/SA hotline number, health center logo, or other local resources for support. To learn more, contact the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence through this form or at health@futureswithoutviolence.org.
Health Care Guide for Survivors of DV/SA
Trauma-informed health care tips for those who have survived childhood or adult violence or abuse and have difficulty going to their nurse, doctor, or dentist for care.
Foonotes
13. National Domestic Violence Hotline (2021). Intersections of Domestic Violence and Primary Healthcare Focus Survey. https://www.thehotline.org/wp-content/uploads/media/2022/04/2109-Hotline-HRSA-report_FINAL.pdf
Next Step
Stay up to date with the latest resources and information from the National Health Resource Center on Domestic Violence, a project of Futures Without Violence.
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This website was developed in 2017 with funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), and Family Violence Prevention and Services Program (FVPSA), Grant #90EV0414. Funding was also provided, in part, from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). As of 2023, updates to this website are made possible by HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) with funding totaling $682,548 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with no contributions from non-governmental sources. The content is the authors' responsibility and does not necessarily reflect the views of HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more details, visit www.HRSA.gov.