Developing domestic violence primary prevention capacity through a community of practice project: Learnings from Alberta, Canada
Date
2017-05-23
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cogent Medicine
Abstract
Domestic violence practitioners and community organizations often lack
the capacity to engage in primary prevention activities. In part, this limited capacity
exacerbates the gap between evidence-based research and practice, necessitating
innovative initiatives specifically aimed at user uptake. Using a community
of practice (CoP) model within two distinct communities in Alberta, Canada, we
sought to translate research knowledge on domestic violence prevention and build
primary prevention capacity with practitioners. One hundred twenty professionals
from various sectors attended CoP sessions, with 20 attending all six sessions.
Data was collected using in-depth semi-structured telephone interviews. Interview
findings include that face to-face learning was effective for deeper understanding
and building networks across sectors, as well as supporting new aspects of prevention
work that had not been previously considered. Findings also indicate that skilled
facilitation increased CoP effectiveness, particularly where community context was
considered in relation to the topics presented. Impacts include changes to discourse,
priorities, and resource allocation to support primary prevention. Areas for
improvement include a slower pace of information delivery, and increased focus on policy and system changes. Overall, using a CoP model seemed to support knowledge translation and practitioner capacity building in the area of domestic violence prevention. Considerations for future utilization of this model are explored.
Description
Keywords
Violence prevention, knowledge translation
Citation
Claussen, C., Wells, L., Aspenlieder, L., & Boutilier, S. (2017). Developing domestic violence primary prevention capacity through a community of practice project: Learnings from Alberta, Canada. Cogent Medicine, 4(1): 1-15.