This article presents the findings of a qualitative study that evaluated the effectiveness of the New Zealand College of Midwives' family violence prevention education programme. The aim of the training workshops is to educate and prepare midwives to screen for family violence. One month after a one-day training workshop with 40 attendees, 6 midwives were able to return to participate in a focus group for the present study. The midwives were interviewed about their experiences of the workshop, in particular with regard to the workshop's objectives. Participants were also asked about their motivation to attend the workshop, the teaching strategies that were employed, and their own learning. The research findings indicate that the midwives found the training to be of value, and that they felt more confident to safely screen for family violence following the workshop. However, they felt that the content was limited due to the short length of the training. The authors note that the study had some limitations, for example, the small sample size, and that the study only took place in Auckland. The article concludes with the recommendations of extending workshop content to include more specific topics, and expanding the training to include pre- and post-training workshops.

New Zealand College of Midwives Journal (32) April 2005 : 21-26