The Implementation of the Advocacy Intervention for Midlife and Older Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Midlife and older women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) often have less access to supports and services than younger women. There is far less focus on research and supports for midlife and older women compared to younger women experiencing IPV, and often, neither elder abuse nor IPV services meet their needs. Few interventions are available to meet the needs of midlife and older women.

Objective: The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test the effectiveness of an advocacy intervention for midlife and older women who experience IPV and to learn from the experiences of those who implement and participate in the program.

Methods: This trial is a 2-arm, unblinded, parallel, pragmatic randomized controlled trial with a qualitative component. Eligible participants will be women who live in the Maritime provinces of Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), who are in midlife and older (aged approximately ≥50 years), and who are currently in a relationship with an abusive partner or have recently left an abusive partner. Facilitators will be trained to deliver the intervention. The intervention will be entirely virtual and will consist of 2 components: (1) an empowerment component, which will involve sharing resources and information with the women; and (2) a social support component, which will include providing support and encouragement to women for 12 weeks. Quantitative effectiveness data will be collected from all trial participants at baseline, 3 months after the intervention, and 9 months after the intervention about the incidence and severity of IPV, physical and mental health, and safety behaviors and strategies. Qualitative interviews will be conducted with the facilitators and intervention group participants. Control group participants will receive a static, nontailored version of the advocacy intervention for midlife and older women (AIM) intervention materials after baseline data collection.

Results: A total of 12 facilitators have been trained to deliver the AIM intervention to trial participants. Participant recruitment and data collection will be completed in January 2025. Data analysis will continue throughout the data collection period, and the results will be disseminated by December 2025.

Conclusions: This research will result in the adaptation and testing of a program to support and empower midlife and older women in the Maritime provinces of Canada who experience IPV.

Trial registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Registry ISRCTN30646991; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN30646991.

International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/57886.