Lessons Learned About Services Delivery to Victims of Domestic Violence During COVID 19 Mandatory Physical Distancing Orders

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing guidelines have dramatically limited or excluded in-person services to domestic violence (DV) victims. Service providers have shifted to providing services to DV victims through telehealth as part of the COVID-19 physical restriction orders. This shift in services from in-person to telehealth has impacted the DV victims accessing services and has impacted the service delivery by the service providers. This study aimed to understand the lessons learned about service delivery to victims of domestic violence during the COVID-19 mandatory physical distancing and stay-home orders. This qualitative study used interviews via Zoom to collect data. The subjects were nine service providers working with domestic violence victims. The data revealed different stages of services when delivering services to the DV victims. These stages of services reported their own barriers, benefits, and strategies when they were using their designed method of provision of services (in-person, telehealth, or hybrid). The data found that service providers and DV clients preferred telehealth services over in-person services and reported the benefits of hybrid services. The data also found an increase in mental health symptoms as an impact of the pandemic for clients and service providers. Due to the limited literature on this topic, the current study is critical for social work practice; the findings of this study can be utilized to enhance preparedness and adopt new strategies and protocols when providing mandatory physical distancing services.