The Social Intervention Group (SIG) of the Columbia School of Social Work and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) have received a $659,000 grant from the National Institute on Drug Addiction (NIDA) to develop and test a computer screening tool to identify and abate intimate partner violence (IPV). This project, known as WINGS, is led by Dr. Louisa Gilbert at SIG. WINGS will be tested in drug-court waiting rooms beginning in February 2012. CCNMTL will receive $125,000 of the grant over two years ending July 2013.

Women Initiating New Goals for Safety (WINGS), is a self-paced suite of computer activities that screen for IPV, help participants develop a safety plan and set goals, and introduce them to available social services that meet their individual needs. Based on research conducted in emergency rooms that shows that women are more likely to disclose IPV in the anonymous setting provided by a computer, the WINGS study will test whether more at-risk women can be reached through a computerized intervention rather than through a standard case-worker interview. Portions of WINGS are based on elements of the SIG and CCNMTL collaboration Women on the Road to Health (WORTH). Both WINGS and WORTH are projects in CCNMTL's Triangle Initiative, which seeks to develop work that furthers faculty research and classroom learning, and benefits communities outside the university.

"This terrific opportunity, which builds on a previous collaboration with SIG, provides evidence supporting CCNMTL's theory that new media tools built for one research project can be re-purposed and re-assembled for newly emerging contexts," said Frank Moretti, CCNMTL's executive director.

About CCNMTL:
The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) was founded at Columbia University in 1999 to enhance teaching and learning through the purposeful use of technology and new media. In partnership with faculty, the Center supports efforts ranging from basic course website management to advanced project development. CCNMTL also extends the scope and reach of its work with strategic initiatives that engage educators, researchers, librarians, partner institutions, and the community in the reinvention of education for the digital age. For more information, please visit https://ccnmtl.columbia.edu.