Efficacy of Bystander Intervention Program in Nursing Students

Overview

The research will be conducted in a randomized control group experimental research design. The study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the bystander intervention program developed for dating violence in nursing students. The Bystander Intervention Program will be developed after a literature review on the subject and taking into account previous evidence-based research. The population of the study will consist of Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Department of Nursing, Turkish Program 1st year students (N=130). In the sample size calculation, the data reported in similar studies in the literature were used (Rothman et al. 2018). The representativeness of the study was calculated as β=80%, α=0.05 (effect size: 0.6), and a total of 80 samples were calculated as a result of power analysis, 40 intervention, and 40 control groups. Participants will be assigned to the experimental or control group by computer-based simple randomization method. Data will be collected between September, 19 2024, and December 19, 2024. Data will be collected face-to-face using the Individual Information Form, Bystander Efficacy Scale, Intention to Help Scale-Short Version, Bystander Behavior Scale (For Friends), and Program Evaluation Form. The data obtained from the research will be evaluated with the SPSS package program.

Dating violence is defined as the tendency to force a person, to establish power and control over a person. Dating violence is a public health problem for all countries in the world (WHO, 2021; Kerman \& Öztürk, 2022). According to the results of studies conducted with university students; more than 70% of students are exposed to dating violence (Schuster et al., 2016; Toplu-Demirtaş \& Fincham, 2020). In addition, it is stated in studies that dating violence starts before the age of 25 (Peterson et al., 2018; Park \& Kim, 2021). Young people exposed to violence may have difficulty seeking help, hide the violence, and feel obliged to maintain the relationship (Park \& Kim, 2021). Studies have shown that college students exposed to dating violence experience many negative physical and mental problems, including physical injuries, depression, anxiety, decreased academic performance, and drug and alcohol abuse (Choi et al., 2017). One of the ways to reduce the risk of dating violence is to focus on other bystanders. It is seen that programs developed to prevent violence are shaped around bystander intervention (Banyard et al., 2019). Bystander intervention, an evidence-based intervention to prevent dating violence, is defined as "an initiative that focuses on adolescents or young adults who have the necessary skills and self-efficacy to safely intervene when they witness dating violence and sexual violence" (Storer, 2016). Bystanders can contribute to risk reduction directly (e.g. by calling security, intervening directly) or indirectly (e.g. by challenging negative attitudes towards dating violence) when dating violence occurs (Amar et al., 2015; Banyard et al., 2019; Debnam and Mauer, 2019; Finnie et al., 2022). Recent studies have found that bystander intervention programs applied to young people produce statistically significant results in the areas of (1) knowledge about dating violence (prevalence, definitions, etc.); (2) attitudes towards dating violence (decrease in sexist attitudes, decrease in denial of violence as a problem, increase in confidence to intervene, increase in intention to intervene, increase in students' self-efficacy to take action against violence, etc.) and (3) behavioral change (decrease in violence perpetration rate, etc.) (Amar et al. 2015; Jouriles et al. 2018; Peterson et al. 2018). ) and (3) behavior change (decreased rate of violence perpetration, etc.) (Amar et al. 2015; Jouriles et al. 2018; Peterson et al. 2018). Nurses are one of the first intervention health professionals in the care of individuals exposed to violence. Providing direct care to the individual subjected to violence and advocating for resources focused on preventing violence is one of the responsibilities and roles of nursing care. It is stated that mental health nurses can apply bystander education principles in prevention programs that aim to change community norms regarding violence (Amar et al. 2012; Kerman \& Öztürk, 2022). It is stated that it is important for nursing students, who will be among the health professionals of the future, to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes about what to do when they witness violence (Barroso-Corroto ve ark., 2022). There are different bystander intervention programs used to prevent dating violence in the literature (Debnam \& Mauer, 2019). However, there is no bystander intervention program developed for dating violence for university students in Turkey. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the bystander intervention program developed for dating violence in nursing students.