Non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is offered inconsistently to patients who have been sexually assaulted. This may be due to Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) programs utilizing diverse nPEP protocols and HIV risk assessment algorithms. This study examines factors associated with FNEs offering nPEP to patients following sexual assault at two FNE programs in urban settings. Offering nPEP is mostly driven by site-specific protocol. At Site 1 in addition to open anal or open genital wounds, the presence of injury to the head or face was associated with FNEs offering nPEP (AOR 64.15, 95%CI [2.12 – 1942.37]). At Site 2, patients assaulted by someone of other race/ethnicity (non-White, non-African American) were 86% less likely to be offered nPEP (AOR 0.14, 95%CI [.03-.72]) than patients assaulted by Whites. In addition to following site specific protocols, future research should further explore the mechanisms influencing clinician decision making.

Forensic nurses will play an important role in bringing their individual jurisdictions into compliance with the VAWA mandates.

Background Nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (nPEP) for HIV following sexual assault may decrease the likelihood of HIV transmission. Objective The purpose of this exploratory chart review study was to examine factors associated with patients accepting postsexual assault nPEP at three forensic nurse examiner programs in urban settings. Methods Forensic nursing charts of patients presenting for acute, sexual assault care were reviewed as part of a mixed-methods study. Results Patients assaulted by more than one or an unknown number of assailants were over 12 times more likely to accept the offer of nPEP (aOR 12.66; 95%CI [2.77, 57.82]). In cases where no condom was used (aOR = 8.57; 95%CI [1.59, 46.10]), or when any injury to the anus or genitalia was noted (aOR = 4.10; 95%CI [1.57, 10.75]), patients were more likely to accept nPEP. Patients with any injury to the face or head were less likely to initiate nPEP (aOR = 0.32; 95%CI [0.11, 0.97]). Discussion This study is an important first step in understanding factors associated with nPEP acceptance after sexual assault.