ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to describe patient, assault, and examination characteristics associated with compliance with follow-up in sexual assault victims. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of consecutive women presenting to an urban hospital after sexual assault over a 36-month period. We compared those who did and did not follow-up by using standardized history, examination, and data collection forms. RESULTS: Eight hundred twelve women met inclusion criteria; 288 (35.5%) attended follow-up. Young age (odds ratio [OR] = 2.70), assault at home (OR = 1.90), amnesia (OR = 1.80), alcohol use (OR = 1.55), genital trauma (OR = 1.55), and receipt of postexamination medications (OR = 1.87) were associated with greater follow-up; homelessness (OR = 0.30), psychiatric diagnosis (OR = 0.34), assault by an intimate partner (OR = 0.47), and cocaine use (OR = 0.29) with less. CONCLUSION: Although only 35.5% of sexual assault victims seek follow-up, we found many factors positively and negatively associated with this. These findings may inform care strategies designed to improve follow-up for women who are at risk for significant sequelae.
Subject(s)
Crime Victims/psychology , Follow-Up Studies , Patient Care , Patient Compliance , Sex Offenses , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Cocaine-Related Disorders/psychology , Cohort Studies , Domestic Violence/psychology , Drug Therapy , Female , Genitalia, Female/injuries , Ill-Housed Persons/psychology , Humans , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Multivariate Analysis , Patient Care/statistics & numerical data , Retrospective Studies , Substance-Related Disorders/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine characteristics associated with physical injury in female sexual assault victims. STUDY DESIGN: All females who were 15 years or older presenting after sexual assault to an urban emergency department during a 34-month period underwent standardized evaluation. Analysis was performed by chi(2) and logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 819 women, 52% had general body and 20% had genital-anal trauma; 41% were without injury. General body trauma was independently associated with being hit or kicked (odds ratio [OR]=7.7, 95% CI, 5.1-11.7), attempted strangulation (OR=4.2, 95% CI, 2.5-7.2), oral or anal penetration (OR=1.7, 95% CI, 1.2-2.3), and stranger (OR=2.4, 95% CI, 1.7-3.4) assault. Genital-anal injury was more frequent in victims younger than 20 and older than 49 years (P<.05), in virgins (OR=2.7, 95% CI, 1.4-5.4) and those examined within 24 hours (OR=1.7, 95% CI, 1.2-2.4) and after anal assault (OR=1.7, 95% CI, 1.1-2.6). CONCLUSION: General body injury is primarily associated with situational factors, whereas genital-anal injury is less frequent and related to victim age, virginal status, and time to examination.
