New mobile app helps social care professionals identify intimate partner violence

Turku University of Applied Sciences developed a mobile application that increases the knowledge of identifying and preventing intimate partner violence. The easy-to-use app was developed based on interviews conducted in Finland, Greece and Portugal and is intended for social and health professionals.

Text by Aleksi Rajamäki

– People experiencing or at risk of intimate partner violence are more likely than others to seek health care. However, identifying intimate partner violence is a challenge and too often goes unnoticed, even by professionals. This is something that has been needed for a long time,” say project experts Tiina Murto and Marjatta Häsänen.

Anyone can be a victim of intimate partner violence, but women are particularly at risk. In Finland, almost every second woman will experience intimate partner violence in her lifetime. The perpetrator may be a current or former partner, a child, a parent or someone close to them.

The DOMINO project, coordinated by Turku University of Applied Sciences, has now responded to the needs of social and health professionals. Professionals and students will be equipped with tools for their work through freely available online training and the recent “DOMINO – Stop domestic violence” mobile app.

– The app provides easy access to additional information. It includes questions and tips to help you identify and talk about intimate partner violence, as well as contact points for further help. The app provides access to an online course on the concept, manifestations, consequences and prevention of intimate partner violence,” Murto and Häsänen explain.

– The online course and mobile app were piloted internationally with social and health professionals and students. The training was found to be a key element in the prevention of intimate partner violence. The app was seen as a good method for learning the basics and familiarising oneself with the topic.

The DOMINO online training (5 ECTS) in English is also available on the project website. The free mobile app, developed by the project partner, Riga University of Technology, is available on Google Play in English, Finnish, Swedish, Latvian, Portuguese and Greek. The app runs on the Android interface.

According to Murro and Häsäsäse, the online course and mobile app offer a flexible way to learn; for example, they can be integrated into higher education curricula. The online course has already been introduced at Turku University of Applied Sciences as part of the degree training for midwives and nurses.

The article was published on the previous turkuamk.fi website on 25.4.2023.