Does Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Training Affect Attitudes of Emergency Department Nurses Toward Sexual Assault Survivors?

Abstract

There are over 243,800 female sexual assaults in the United States annually. Of those who seek healthcare services after being sexually assaulted, 90% present to hospitals. Unfortunately, care and services for women who have been sexually assaulted are inconsistent. Increased burnout, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy can lead healthcare providers to exhibit personal biases or negative attitudes toward their patients. The Joint Commission, responsible for accreditation of healthcare organizations, has stated that nurses must provide competent care to all patients. Therefore, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) training needs to be available for emergency department (ED) nurses who care for patients who have been sexually assaulted. A survey using the Attitude Toward Rape Victims Scale was sent to 1503 ED nurses throughout the United States, from the Emergency Nursing Association's mailing list. The results of the survey showed that there was a significant difference in attitudes toward the patients between SANE-trained emergency nurses and those without training. This study also showed that 35.5% of hospitals represented by the respondents did not have SANE services available for adult patients who had been sexually assaulted, and furthermore, 85.5% of the respondents who cared for adult patients who had been sexually assaulted were not SANE trained. The negative attitudes held toward such patients as found in this study, coupled with a lack of training provides evidence that ED nurses may benefit from education related to appropriate treatment for patients who have been sexually assaulted. As evidence-based practice becomes the gold standard of care, ensuring that nurses are properly trained to care for all patients must be the goal.

Gaps in Sexual Assault Health Care Among Homeless Young Adults

“…42 Though postassault treatment is complex and involves medical, psychological, and legal services, most providers (86%) of post-assault care are not SANEs. 45 Therefore, there is a need for (1) increased post−sexual assault care training among the healthcare workforce; (2) expansion of SANE programs; and (3) novel community-based delivery models to provide education and increase access to post− sexual assault examination as a prevention strategy for HIV, STIs, and unintended pregnancy. By increasing the SANE workforce and service delivery modalities, cities may decrease the barrier found in this data that youth did not know where to go for an exam.…”

Factors Influencing the Filing of Complaints, Their Investigation, and Subsequent Legal Judgment in Cases of Sexual Assault

“…Unlike Anglo‐Saxon countries, such as the United Kingdom , Hong Kong , Australia , Canada , or the United States —sometimes with conclusive results , sometimes with mixed results , the latter especially due to a lack of training —Switzerland does not have a medical system under which cases of sexual assault are examined by specialized nurses (SANEs: Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners).…”

Vocational training and sexual assault against women: challenges for graduation in nursing

“…When considering the powerlessness in cases of violence, the need for training on gender studies to professionals is also understood, to provide autonomy and effective action in the face of such situations, not being restricted to referral, in the absence of physical injuries 30,35 and/or sporadic care. 40 This study should be expanded to other higher education institutions in other states and regions, in order to include discussions and diversity in approaching the topic in multiple curricular matrices in the academic formation of the future nurse.…”