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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Noreen Esposito, EdD, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Carrington Hall, CB #7460, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, 919-843-4603, noreen_esposito@unc.edu
The purpose of this presentation is to describe barriers and facilitators to post sexual assault care for substance abusing and non-substance abusing women. Design: Four focus groups and thirty-four individual in-depth interviews with sexual assault survivors from New York City and central North Carolina have been completed. An additional 20 individual interviews are planned. Participants are asked about their (a) social support systems, (b) health seeking behaviors in response to a sexual assault; (c) experiences with immediate post sexual assault care and (d) perceived post-assault well-being and health status. Preliminary results indicate that survivors are rarely asked nor do they ever discuss a sexual assault history with health care providers. Many survivors never obtain any type of treatment. While some survivors link sexual assault exams with health care (STD screening, post coital contraception and PTSD prevention), many of the women consider the exams necessary only if planning to prosecute. Finally, when they exist, social support networks do not always offer appropriate post assault support. Depression and substance abuse among this group is pervasive. Conclusions: Current public and professional approaches to post sexual assault care are clearly not reaching the majority of survivors. Improved individual access to appropriate care at the personal, community and professional level is critical. Evidence-based interventions that focus on destigmatizing the sexual assault experience, increasing social awareness of appropriately supportive responses and improving access through provider assessment and intervention in primary and behavioral health settings should be considered.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to
Keywords: Sexual Assault, Access to Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.