Testing Family Intervention to Address Mental Health and Domestic Violence Among Women

Domestic Violence (DV) is a major public health problem in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Nepal, where women often live in extended, multigenerational households, and violence can be perpetrated by the husband and/or mother-in-law (MIL). DV is a well-established social driver of mental illness and doubles the rate of depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). Interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can improve depression among women after they exit abusive relationships with DV. However, despite ongoing violence, many young women in LMICs including Nepal are less likely to divorce or separate from their husband. But, ongoing DV severely limits mental health recovery and increases the risks of suicide. This created a need for intervention which improves mental health and reduce ongoing DV, while involving the woman along with her husband and MIL. The study team thus developed a multi-component family intervention and conducted a study to to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of the intervention to reduce domestic violence and consequent depression among married women in Nepal.