Protocol for the first large-scale emergency care-based longitudinal cohort study of recovery after sexual assault: the Women’s Health Study

Abstract

IntroductionWorldwide, an estimated 10%–27% of women are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Despite the enormity of sexual assault as a public health problem, to our knowledge, no large-scale prospective studies of experiences and recovery over time among women presenting for emergency care after sexual assault have been performed.Methods and analysisWomen ≥18 years of age who present for emergency care within 72 hours of sexual assault to a network of treatment centres across the USA are approached for study participation. Blood DNA and RNA samples and brief questionnaire and medical record data are obtained from women providing initial consent. Full consent is obtained at initial 1 week follow-up to analyse blood sample data and to perform assessments at 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. These assessments include evaluation of survivor life history, current health and recovery and experiences with treatment providers, law enforcement and the legal system.Ethics and disseminationThis study is approved by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB of each participating study site. We hope to present the results of this study to the scientific community at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.

Health care utilization by women sexual assault survivors after emergency care: Results of a multisite prospective study

“…Sample size was determined by power analysis to achieve power of 0.80 for the overall study hypotheses (Short et al, 2019). Descriptive analyses were used to assess participant and assault characteristics, adverse health outcomes at Week 6, the prevalence of receiving health care services, and disclosure of sexual assault to providers (Table 2), and demographic and clinical characteristics (Tables 2 and 3).…”

“…The current study is based on a large‐scale observational study (Women's Health Study) of women presenting to emergency care following sexual assault (Short et al, 2019). Adult women presenting for emergency care at one of the twelve participating sites in the Better Tomorrow Network (Albuquerque SANE Collaborative, UCHealth Memorial Hospital, Tulsa Forensic Nursing Services, Austin Safe, Denver Health, Crisis Center of Birmingham, Hennepin Healthcare, Christiana Care, University of Louisville SANE Hospital, Philadelphia SARC, Cone Health, Wayne State University Hospital and Wayne County SAFE, DC SANE) from 2015 to 2019 were recruited.…”

“…The current study is based on a large-scale observational study (Women's Health Study) of women presenting to emergency care following sexual assault (Short et al, 2019). Adult women presenting for emergency care at one of the twelve participating sites in the Bai et al, 2018;Li et al, 2019;Sedov et al, 2018), planning on living with the assailant after the assault (due to likelihood of repeat traumatization and thus differing patterns of PTS symptoms and other outcomes), fracture (as fracture is rare after SA and can influence pain outcomes, an important aim of the study), hospital admission, not speaking or reading English, no telephone access, no mailing address, unwilling to provide blood sample, incarceration, and inability in opinion of study staff to be able to follow the study protocol.…”

Secondary prevention for posttraumatic stress and related symptoms among women whohave experienced a recent sexual assault: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…This highlights the inherent difficulty in recruiting and retaining this vulnerable population (Campbell & Adams, 2009), but it constrains the generalizability of results. Future researchers should continue to strive to include the highest number of women possible and use countermeasures to ensure the highest possible levels of retention (Short et al, 2019).…”

Anxiety Sensitivity Prospectively Predicts Increased Acute Posttraumatic Stress and Related Symptoms After Sexual Assault

“…The present investigation was performed using a subsample of participants from a large‐scale observational cohort study of women who presented to one of 12 emergency care facilities in the United States after experiencing a sexual assault (Short et al., 2019); the present analyses include women for whom AS was assessed 1‐week posttrauma. The current findings have not been previously reported.…”