A-PATH: A path towards healing and support for older women

INTERVENTION: ‐ Women randomised to A‐PATH will be offered up to eight weekly or fortnightly sessions, followed by two booster sessions, 1 month and then 3 months post‐intervention. The schedule will be flexible and revised according to participant preferences. A‐PATH is designed to support women in recognising, and exploring psychological consequences related to experiences of DA, while developing coping strategies to manage conflict and other stressors. ‐ Women in the control group will receive usual care in the form of DA advocacy support but will not participate in A‐PATH sessions. The advocacy support will include a package of legal, housing, financial, and safety advice, provided by our partner Hourglass, a leading national charity and experts in DA of older women. ‐ We will follow‐up all participants across all study arms for 4, 8 and 12 months. ‐ We will consider how best to balance and stratify our randomisation (e.g., by age, co‐habitation status, and site), with our sites chosen to increase diversity and serve both rural and urban areas. CONDITION: Domestic abuse ; Other PRIMARY OUTCOME: Feasibility outcomes:; 1. Recruitment rate is measured using trial screening and enrolment logs at end of study; 2. Retention rate is measured using participant follow‐up completion records at end of study; 3. Recruitment pathway feasibility is measured using qualitative interviews with trial staff and participants at end of study; 4. Barriers and facilitators to recruitment are measured using qualitative interviews and participant questionnaires at end of study; 5. Acceptability of intervention formats is measured using participant feedback questionnaires and interviews at end of study; 6. Feasibility of collecting outcome data is measured using completion rates of study measures at end of study; 7. Participant burden is measured using self‐reported burden questionnaires and qualitative interviews at end of study; 8. Time taken to complete measures is measured using participant‐reported time logs or researcher observation at end of study; 9. Difficulty in completing measures is measured using participant feedback questionnaires at end of study; 10. Missing data rate is measured using analysis of completed outcome measures at end of study SECONDARY OUTCOME: Measured at 4, 8, and 12 months:; 1. Psychological distress (Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation–Outcome Measure, CORE‐OM); 2. Depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ); 3. Post‐traumatic stress symptoms (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Scale); 4. Health‐related quality of life (EQ‐5D‐5L) INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Women aged 60 years or older 2. Who have experienced domestic abuse, including physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, or financial abuse, either currently or in the past 3. Are able to provide informed consent to participate in the study 4. Have sufficient cognitive capacity to engage in the intervention and complete study assessments