Journal of forensic nursing
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Substantial disparities in the quality of post-sexual-assault (SA) care exist in the United States, particularly in rural areas. This study evaluates the implementation of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth Center, a program to improve SA care by increasing access to experienced sexual assault nurse examiners via telehealth, in three rural hospitals. ⋯ The Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Telehealth model resulted in improved local nurse confidence in provision of SA care, nurse perception of improvement in care quality, and high patient care experience ratings. These findings and the use of the DSF have implications for SA specialty care implementation in rural communities.
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The aim of this study was to determine retrospectively the demographic characteristics of forensic cases aged 0-18 years who were admitted to the emergency department. ⋯ The high rates of falling, burns, and poisoning cases among children observed in this study suggest that child neglect and abuse were high and reveal the necessity of the presence of forensic nurses in the emergency departments.
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Emergency department (ED) providers serve as the primary point-of-contact for many survivors of sexual assault but are often ill-prepared to address their unique treatment needs. Sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) are therefore an important resource for training other ED providers. The objective of this project was to create a SANE-led educational intervention addressing this training gap. ⋯ On the basis of these results, a SANE-led educational intervention was developed for emergency medicine residents, consisting of a didactic lecture, two standardized patient cases, and a forensic pelvic examination simulation. Preintervention and postintervention surveys showed an increase in respondents' self-perceived ability to avoid retraumatizing patients, comfort with conducting forensic examinations, and understanding of laws and policies. These results show the value of an interprofessional collaboration between physicians and SANEs to train ED providers on sexual assault patient care.
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The International Association of Forensic Nurses has developed a Position Statement regarding violence and injuries in the United States related to firearms. The Position Statement identifies the scope of the problem, the rationale for interventions, and recommendations for implementation.