Facilitators and Barriers for Implementing Home Visit Interventions to Address Intimate Partner Violence: Town and Gown Partnerships

Pregnant women involved in violent relationships represent a population that is vulnerable for poor pregnancy and infant outcomes on several levels. This article describes the development of a “town and gown” partnership to assist pregnant women in violent relationships. Barriers and facilitating factors for research and home visitor (HV) nurse partnerships working with this vulnerable population were identified by HV participants in a qualitative focus group session. Methods used to develop and maintain the reciprocal relationship between the community (town) and academic researchers (gown) are described.