Evaluation of the impact of an online educational program on midwives’ preparedness to respond to intimate partner violence: the STOPIPV pre-post study

Background Exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes for maternal and infant health. Evidence indicates that midwives face challenges in routine enquiry for and referring to IPV cases during pregnancy. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the STOPIPV online educational program on Greek Cypriot midwives’ knowledge, attitudes, preparedness for routine IPV enquiry during pregnancy, and their perceptions of organisational barriers to implementing IPV enquiry. Methods Approximately 49% of registered midwives in the Republic of Cyprus (RC) ( n = 171) participated in the 6-hour educational program. Among these participants, 103 completed the pre- and post-intervention questionnaire, which assessed knowledge, attitudes, preparedness, and perceptions of workplace organisational barriers related to routine IPV enquiry during pregnancy. Results Most participants worked in private maternity clinics (55.3%) and held a postgraduate degree in midwifery (49.5%). Approximately one third (35.9%) of the participants had not received any prior training on routinely enquiring about IPV during pregnancy, and 41.8% reported reluctance to ask questions about IPV due to concerns about embarrassing women. The main barriers to routine IPV enquiry during pregnancy included the presence of partners during consultations and language barriers among immigrant women. There was a significant increase in participants’ preparedness for routine enquiry of IPV in pregnancy after the intervention, with mean preparedness scores increasing from 3.48 (SD = 0.94) to 4.14 (SD = 0.66) on a 5-point scale ( p < .001). Additionally, participants’ knowledge of pregnancy-related IPV, measured as the mean percentage of correct answers, increased significantly from 58.0% pre-intervention to 65.9% post-intervention ( p < .001). Conclusion The STOPIPV program improved participants’ knowledge and preparedness for routine IPV enquiry during pregnancy. Future longitudinal studies are recommended to assess the sustainability of these outcomes, examine whether the training increases the proportion of clinical encounters in which IPV routine enquiry is completed, and explore collaborative training approaches that support a multidisciplinary response to IPV within healthcare settings.