Framework.
The framework challenged women to see and act on new possibilities. One survivor spoke of the intrusion theory, “I was always led to believe I was crazy. The language [of the Intervention for Health Enhancement After Leaving encouraged me that I wasn’t.” The capacity-building framework guided RNs to emphasize existing strengths and foster potential, a focus that felt revolutionary for some survivors. As well, learning that health problems could be linked to physiologic changes from the traumatic stress of abuse was liberating, “It helped me put 2+2 together really eye-opening!” Women also liked the holistic primary health care focus of the nurse-outreach worker partnership: “They were concerned with every aspect of my life. They had the knowledge of how to do it and the connections to make it happen…and to just go to one spot and cover so much.”