Occupational Therapy for Adults Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) (IPV)

Occupational Therapy for Adults Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence

The purpose of this graduate student research study is to understand the effectiveness of an occupational therapy program in a domestic violence shelter. It is expected that participation will last about 6 weeks. Subjects will complete pretests involving lifestyle assessments and a coping scale and then participate in 8 occupational therapy sessions during the 4 weeks of program implementation. The occupational therapy sessions will last approximately 90 minutes. After the program is completed, subjects will complete the posttests.

Procedures and Activities. You will be asked to:

Complete a series of questionnaires about your health, well-being, and daily activities.

Participate in 8 OT sessions that may include activities such as journaling, positive self-talk, coping skills methods, and grounding exercises.

Complete the posttests.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Domestic Violence
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Health and coping skills

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 25
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Heather Javaherian, OTD; Phone Number: 9095584628; Email: hjavaherian@llu.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Leticia Guerrero, BA; Phone Number: 909-558-4628; Email: letguerrero@llu.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Loma Linda, California, United States, 92350
      • Recruiting
      • Loma Linda University Health
      • Contact: Heather Javaherian, PhD; Phone Number: 909-558-4628; Email: hjavaherian@llu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male or Female 18 years of age or older receiving services from a domestic violence organization

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Health and coping skills; Subjects will complete an 8-item occupational therapy lifestyle medicine checklist at each session. The subjects will participate in eight sessions receiving education on health topics of sleep hygiene, physical activity, healthy cooking, self-management, coping skills, self-esteem, mindfulness, and goal setting.

Behavioral: Health and coping skills; An occupational therapist and occupational therapy graduate capstone student will lead in-person sessions. Subjects will participate in an occupational therapy program that meets 2x/week x 4 weeks for eight sessions. Topics will include sleep hygiene, physical activity, healthy cooking, self-management, coping skills, self-esteem, mindfulness, and goal setting. Subjects will receive education as well as actively engage in activities related to the topic. Subjects will be provided with a personal journal to complete homework involving reflections on the topics discussed in the sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Improvement in Healthy Lifestyle	This is a composite measurement, utilizing the Occupational Therapy Lifestyle Medicine Checklist (OTLM) to assess improvement in the following categories: Healthy eating; Physical Activity; Stress Management; Social Connections; Sleep; Work/School (that's too vague to measure), Leisure and Hobbies; Avoiding Risky Substances. Participants will complete this checklist at baseline, prior to the first intervention and after the final eight intervention is completed. Each category will have a range (1-10), which will indicate how the participant has responded overall to the intervention. An overall increase of >15 points in the combined categories will indicate significant improvement. An overall decrease of any number of points will indicate non-significant improvement.	Change between baseline assessment at initial enrollment and completion of Session 8 at 8 weeks post-enrollment.
Improvement in Quality of Life	This is a compositive measure utilizing the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire. Quality of life involves several areas. The 36-item Short Form is a self-reported measure that consists of thirty-six questions covering eight domains of health. Categories include (1) limitations in physical activities, (2) limitations in social activities, (3) limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems, (4) bodily pain, (5) general mental health, (6) limitations in usual role activities because of emotional problems, (7) vitality, and (8) general health perceptions. Subjects may receive a score ranging from 0-100. Higher scores indicate more favorable health.	Change between the baseline assessment and post-test at study completion, up to 9 weeks post-enrollment
Improvement in Coping Skills	This is a composite measure that will utilize the Coping Scale Questionnaire. This 13-item questionnaire gathers information on how the subject copes. Categories include anger management, endurance, well-being, and posttraumatic growth. Higher scores indicate higher levels of coping.	Change between the baseline assessment and post-test at study completion, up to 9 weeks post-enrollment.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Loma Linda University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Heather Javaherian, OTD, Loma Linda University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 3, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 25, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): February 5, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 23, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: occupational therapy; domestic violence; intimate partner violence
• Other Study ID Numbers: 5240501

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No