RESPOND – Responses to Gender-Based Violence
The project focuses on effective nursing and other healthcare professionals responses (clinical, organisational and referral straegies) and contextual factors on gender-based violence in hospital settings.
Factsheet
- Schools involved School of Health Professions
- Institute(s) Nursing
- Research unit(s) Innovation in the Field of Mental Health and Psychiatric Care
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 01.03.2026 - 31.03.2029
- Head of project Karin McEvoy
- Project staff Karin McEvoy
- Partner Uni Bern
Situation
Gender-based violence is a major public health emergency, affecting approximately one in three women worldwide, one in five in Switzerland, and leading to severe physical, psychological and social consequences. Nurses and other healthcare professionals’ effective response to GBV within European hospital settings remain unclear or how organisational contexts shape their responses. There are persistent gaps in the European healthcare system, where care structures, protocols and referral pathways used or recommended to apply by nurses and other healthcare professionals remain fragmented due to heterogeneity and inconsistent implementation.
Course of action
This project aims (1) to map the clinical, organisational, and referral strategies used by nurses and other healthcare professionals to respond to survivors of gender-based violence in European and Swiss German hospital settings ; (2) to examine how contextual factors (e.g. hospital policies, national legislation, training systems, resource availability, cultural norms) shape or constrain these responses; and (3) to identify gaps in the existing evidence base to inform future research, policy and practice in European and Swiss German hospitals. The project is structured in three parts. Scoping review: First, we will compile a literature-based review focusing on the European inpatient healthcare sector, which will serve as the basis for the subsequent steps. 2. Qualitative interviews: We will then conduct up to 30 individual interviews and focus group discussions with experts. The discussions will cover the following topics: Clinical implementation in day-to-day practice, Organisational strategies within the institution, Referral strategies and collaboration with external organisations, Contextual factors within the healthcare system. The focus is on how professionals go about their work, the challenges they face, the factors that facilitate their work, and the extent to which leaders and organisational culture can contribute to this. 3. Development of the training programme Based on the data collected, a digital training programme will be developed for nursing staff in Ge
Result
The results of this project will (1) identify areas of convergence and variation in responses across European and Swiss German hospital contexts, (2) highlight systemic and organisational facilitators and barriers to optimal GBV care, and (3) reveal gaps in the existing evidence base. These findings will inform the development of future research priorities, a digital training programme for nurses in hospitals caring for GBV affected women in the Swiss German area, guide policy and organisational initiatives, and support the refinement of practice recommendations for improving the recognition and management of gender-based violence in European hospitals.
