The emotional challenges faced by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners: “ER nursing is stressful on a good day without rape victims”

Maier, Shana L.

doi:10.1111/j.1939-3938.2011.01118.x

Cited by 38 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…These SANE nurses described the same concern regarding triggering emotional distress or re-traumatizing SA survivors when addressing the SA as expressed by our participants (Maier, 2012). Additionally, they described their own experiences of emotional challenges when dealing with SA such as vicarious trauma and burnout (Maier, 2011). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicians' Perceived Roles, as Well as Barriers, Toward Caring for Women Sex Assault Survivors

Amin

Buranosky

Chang

2017

Women's Health Issues

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Background Sexual assault (SA) affects about 40% of women in the US and has many mental and physical health sequelae. Physicians often do not address SA with patients although SA survivors describe a desire to talk to physicians to obtain additional help. Little information exists on how providers perceive their roles regarding caring for women SA survivors and what barriers they face in providing this care. Methods We performed a qualitative study using semi-structured one-on-one interviews with sixteen faculty physicians from five specialties: obstetrics and gynecology (four), internal medicine (four), family medicine (one), emergency medicine (three), and psychiatry (four). Interviews were conducted between July 2011 and July 2012, transcribed verbatim, and coded using a constant comparative approach. Once a final coding scheme was applied to all transcripts, we identified patterns and themes related to perceived roles and barriers to caring for SA survivors. Results Physicians described two main categories of roles: clinical tasks (e.g. testing and treating for sexually transmitted infections, managing associated mental health sequelae) and interpersonal roles (e.g. providing support, acting as patient advocate). Physician barriers fell into three main categories: (1) internal barriers (e.g. discomfort with the topic of SA); (2) physician-patient communication; and (3) system obstacles (e.g. competing priorities for time). Conclusions Although physicians describe key roles in caring for SA survivors, several barriers hinder their ability to fulfill these roles. Training interventions are needed to reduce the barriers that would ultimately improve clinical care for SA survivors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicians' Perceived Roles, as Well as Barriers, Toward Caring for Women Sex Assault Survivors

Amin

Buranosky

Chang

2017

Women's Health Issues

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“…In those who provide sexual abuse treatment, male gender, age and childhood neglect were predictors of disruptive cognitions [5]. In one study, 67 % of sexual assault nurse examiners reported vicarious trauma, emotional demands associated with the job and burnout [6]. Another study looking at social workers who work closely with sexually abused clients described the social workers as experiencing denial, anger, depression, and disruption in their lives [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Self-reported Vicarious Trauma in Asylum Evaluators: A Preliminary Survey

Mishori

Mujawar

Ravi

2013

J Immigrant Minority Health

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Hundreds of clinicians in the US conduct asylum evaluations, to document evidence of torture and persecution of people fleeing their home countries. Participating in these encounters puts clinicians at risk for vicarious trauma (VT). Little research addressed VT in physicians. Even less is known about VT among asylum evaluators. A survey was distributed to members of the asylum network of Physicians for Human Rights in Spring 2012. The majority (65%) of survey participants denied having experienced VT. However, being female, being a mental health professional and having performed a greater number of evaluations was associated with a higher likelihood of reporting VT. We present preliminary data about VT in asylum evaluators. Recruiters and trainers should make every effort to address the issue and educate their volunteers about means of identifying and managing symptoms. Formal and informal support services and resources should be developed and shared with volunteers.

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“…Emotional distress has been described in social workers and nurses who counsel victims of trauma [12, 13]. Emotional distress is well documented in women who suffer domestic abuse [14, 15] and manifests as psychological symptoms of distress (feeling worried or tense, headaches, poor digestion, tiredness), including depression and anxiety [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary distress in violence researchers: a randomised trial of the effectiveness of group debriefings

Grundlingh

Knight

Naker³

et al. 2017

BMC Psychiatry

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BackgroundSecondary distress including emotional distress, vicarious trauma (VT) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) due to exposure to primary trauma victims have been described in helping professionals and in violence researchers. To our knowledge, there are few prevalence studies, and no tailored interventions have been tested to reduce secondary distress in violence researchers. The study aims to (1) describe the epidemiology of secondary distress experienced by violence researchers; to (2) assess the effectiveness of group debriefings in mitigating secondary distress; to (3) assess risk and protective factors.MethodsWe conducted an un-blinded, individually randomised trial with parallel assignment. Eligible participants were 59 Ugandan researchers employed by the Good Schools Study to interview children who experienced violence in a district of Uganda. Fifty-three researchers agreed to participate and were randomly allocated. The intervention group (n = 26) participated in three group debriefings and the control group (n = 27) in three leisure sessions (film viewings). The primary outcome was change in levels of emotional distress (SRQ-20); secondary outcomes were levels of VT and STS at end-line. A paired t-test assessed the difference in mean baseline and end-line emotional distress. Un-paired t-tests compared the change in mean emotional distress (baseline vs. end-line), and compared levels of VT and STS at end-line. Separate logistic regression models tested the association between end-line emotional distress and a-priori risk or protective factors.ResultsBaseline and end-line levels of emotional distress were similar in control (p = 0.47) and intervention (p = 0.59) groups. The superiority of group debriefing over leisure activities in lowering levels of emotional distress in the intervention group (n = 26; difference in SRQ-20 = 0.23 [SD = 2.18]) compared to the control group (n = 26; difference in SRQ-20 = 0.23 [SD = 1.63]) could not be detected (p = 1). In regression analysis (n = 48), baseline distress increased the odds of end-line distress (OR = 16.1, 95%CI 2.82 to 92.7, p = 0.002). Perceived organisational support (OR = 0.09, 95%CI 0.01 to 0.69, p = 0.02) and belief in God (OR = 0.21, 95%CI 0.03 to 1.26, p = 09) was protective against end-line distress.ConclusionWe found no evidence that violence researchers experienced elevated emotional distress after doing violence research. There was no difference between group debriefings and leisure activities in reducing distress in our sample. However, the hypotheses presented should not be ruled out in other violence research settings. Our findings suggest that organisational support is a significant protective factor and belief in God may be an important coping mechanism.Trial registrationClinical Trials NCT02390778. Retrospectively registered 19 March 2015. The Good Schools Trial was registered at (NCT01678846), on August 24, 2012.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1327-x) contains supplementary...

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The emotional challenges faced by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners: “ER nursing is stressful on a good day without rape victims”

Cited by 38 publications

References 37 publications

Physicians' Perceived Roles, as Well as Barriers, Toward Caring for Women Sex Assault Survivors

Physicians' Perceived Roles, as Well as Barriers, Toward Caring for Women Sex Assault Survivors

Self-reported Vicarious Trauma in Asylum Evaluators: A Preliminary Survey

Secondary distress in violence researchers: a randomised trial of the effectiveness of group debriefings

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