Development and Pilot Testing of a Novel Training for Doulas Addressing Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts one in four individuals during the perinatal period. Doulas are instrumental sources of support; however, there are few trainings created by and for doulas on healthy relationship education and addressing IPV. In this practice note, we describe the development and evaluation of a mixed-media, hybrid, longitudinal training for a cohort of English- and Spanish-speaking community doulas on supporting IPV survivors during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. A multidisciplinary team of IPV advocates, IPV survivors, doulas, community leaders, artists, and researchers co-created the training. The training comprised videos, podcasts, in-person sessions, and a longitudinal learning collaborative. Eleven doulas completed the training and provided feedback via surveys and semi-structured interviews. Participants found the training to be engaging, interactive, and insightful in learning about IPV. They valued hearing their colleagues and friends facilitate the training and appreciated the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences with IPV. Participants also described the importance of creating a linguistically affirming space and noted that complex topics like IPV require continuous skills-building opportunities, learning, and community support. Next steps include continuous learning and team building for the doulas through the longitudinal learning collaborative and revising and expanding the training based on doulas' experiences working with IPV survivors. We also aim to incorporate training feedback for future doula cohorts and enhance its sustainability and community-building aspects by using a train-the-trainer model.