Employee assistance program services for intimate partner violence and client satisfaction with these services

Objective: To describe intimate partner violence (IPV) services available through employee assistance programs (EAPs) and determine women's satisfaction with these services.
Methods: A mixed-methods study consisting of semistructured telephone interviews with 28 EAPs about IPV-related services and a national web-based survey of 1765 women regarding their interactions with EAPs when seeking IPV-related assistance. Data were collected in the fall of 2008.
Results: EAPs provide fairly extensive services to individuals experiencing IPV. Satisfaction with EAP services for IPV was significantly associated with annual income and the type of help received from the EAP, but not with type of IPV experienced. EAP representatives described challenges with accurately identifying IPV victims and women expressed concerns with confidentiality.
Conclusions: Future efforts to enhance the ability of EAPs to respond effectively to IPV should address confidentially and strengthen how IPV-related assistance is delivered.