{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T04:23:37Z","timestamp":1788495817438,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784246400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Domestic violence remains a major public health challenge with profound consequences for women survivors. Arts-based interventions are increasingly incorporated into community services as culturally responsive recovery approaches for marginalized populations; however, it remains unexamined whether quantitative evaluation frameworks adequately capture their broad intended outcomes. This scoping review mapped the literature on arts-based interventions for survivors, examining the ecological alignment\u2014or potential evaluative tension\u2014between stated objectives and quantitative evaluation metrics. Conducted following established scoping review methodology and reporting guidelines, systematic searches of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and PsycINFO identified 12 eligible empirical studies. Data were charted using the Social Ecological Model across individual, interpersonal, and community levels. Findings revealed interventions were predominantly community-integrated, with objectives extending beyond psychological symptom reduction to encompass peer connection, cultural belonging, and collective healing. While individual-level recovery was evaluated using congruent psychological measures, broader interpersonal and community-oriented goals were less consistently represented. This revealed an evaluative tension, wherein relational and community outcomes were only partially reflected in formal quantitative assessments. Although arts-based interventions operate across multiple ecological levels, current evaluations remain disproportionately focused on individual psychological outcomes. Future research and policy initiatives may benefit from developing ecologically responsive measurement approaches that capture relational and community-level outcomes alongside clinical measures, thereby providing rigorous evidence to inform the funding, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs for women survivors of domestic violence.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1897444","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T05:45:07Z","timestamp":1784267107000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Mapping ecological targets and outcome evaluations in arts-based interventions for women survivors of domestic violence: a scoping review"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Xingcen","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Penang, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kamal","family":"Sabran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of the Arts, Universiti Sains Malaysia","place":["Penang, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended data Elements (Version 2.0)","author":"Breiding","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2128","DOI":"10.1177\/10778012221142914","article-title":"The experiences of post-separation survivors of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from a qualitative study in the United Kingdom","volume":"30","author":"Desai","year":"2024","journal-title":"Violence Against Women"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"374","DOI":"10.1002\/casp.2501","article-title":"Domestic violence during COVID-19 pandemic: the case for Indian women","volume":"32","author":"Maji","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Community Appl Soc Psychol"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102542","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijedudev.2021.102542","article-title":"Vocational training and employment outcomes of domestic violence survivors: evidence from Chihuahua City","volume":"89","author":"Au Yong Lyn","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Educ Dev"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"262","DOI":"10.1177\/0886260505282564","article-title":"Intimate partner violence and long-term psychosocial functioning in a national sample of American women","volume":"21","author":"Zlotnick","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Interpers Violence"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109","DOI":"10.1080\/01973533.2012.746599","article-title":"The intimate partner violence stigmatization model and barriers to help-seeking","volume":"35","author":"Overstreet","year":"2013","journal-title":"Basic Appl Soc Psychol"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"123","DOI":"10.1007\/s10896-017-9931-6","article-title":"Understanding how domestic violence support services promote survivor well-being: a conceptual model","volume":"33","author":"Sullivan","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Fam Violence"},{"key":"ref9","first-page":"2911","volume-title":"Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and abuse across the Lifespan: A project of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan (NPEIV)","author":"Hetzel-Riggin","year":"2021"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"458","DOI":"10.1111\/hsc.12502","article-title":"The impact of the arts in healthcare on patients and service users: a critical review","volume":"26","author":"Boyce","year":"2018","journal-title":"Health Social Care Community"},{"key":"ref11","volume-title":"What is the Evidence on the role of the arts in Improving Health and well-Being? 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