An early prevention program shows promise for preventing exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) for mothers and children, according to a recent article by the team from the Children’s Health Policy Centre.

Published in The Conversation, the article is based on new research examining the benefits of Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a nurse home-visiting program for expectant mothers and their children.

“These findings come at a crucial time,” the article said. “IPV is occurring at epidemic proportions. Yet, supports for children and mothers remain inadequate and early childhood prevention investments remain sparse.”

To understand the impact of NFP on intimate partner violence exposure, a team of researchers led by Nicole Catherine, Associate Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre, examined data from the BC Healthy Connections Project, the Canadian randomized controlled trial of NFP. The program involved the provision of frequent support visits from public health nurses to expectant mothers and their children throughout pregnancy and early childhood.

Upon entering the study in early pregnancy, more than one-third (38 per cent) of the participating mothers-to-be reported IPV exposure within the past year. “By the end of the trial, when children were age two years, significantly fewer NFP mothers reported IPV exposure (since last interview) and psychological distress (in the previous month),” the article said.

These findings, while exploratory, offer compelling evidence that policymakers should invest in research-backed approaches to early IPV prevention.

According to a 2014 study cited in the article, the economic burden of childhood IPV exposure totaled over $7 billion in a 10-year period — roughly $9 billion in 2024 dollars.

“These costs could have been averted by early childhood prevention programming,” the article said. “Yet in 2024, only 6.1 per cent of Canada’s health spending was allotted to public health, including prevention.”

Effective primary prevention programs could not only save taxpayers billions of dollars — these programs are desperately needed to ensure children and mothers do not experience avoidable harms from IPV exposure.

Read the full article.