ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Sexual assault (SA) is a serious crime that is a prevalent mental and public health problem. AIMS: Addressing the needs of SA victims and providing appropriate treatment are essential to reduce potential adverse short- and long-term outcomes. METHODS: Our team undertook an extensive systematic literature review (published between January 2006 and July 2021) to provide evidence-based mental health intervention recommendations for adolescent and adult victims of SA. Where SA-specific research was limited, the literature and clinical practice guidelines on treatments for trauma-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were reviewed to provide additional information to formulate recommendations. RESULTS: Findings strongly support several primary psychotherapy treatments: cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive processing therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, narrative exposure therapy, and prolonged exposure therapy. Complementary (aerobic exercise, art, drama, and music therapy) and pharmacological treatments were explored. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health nurses who provide services for victims of SA can utilize this overview to guide recommendations for treatment of SA trauma and related PTSD symptoms to mitigate the short- and long-term negative impacts after a traumatic event. When victims of SA receive optimal mental health treatments, our communities benefit as victims heal and recover.
Subject(s)
Sex Offenses , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic , Humans , Adolescent , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/therapy , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Sex Offenses/psychology , Adult , Crime Victims/psychology , Female , Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/methods , Psychotherapy/methods , MaleABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to describe relationships between demographic characteristics, body mass index (BMI), and health literacy among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (NHPIs). DESIGN AND SAMPLE: In this cross-sectional survey, we interviewed 364 NHPI adults. MEASURES: We used Newest Vital Sign (NVS), a health literacy tool; measured heights and weights; and demographic questions. RESULTS: According to participants' NVS scores, 45.3% had at least a possibility of low health literacy. Lower NVS scores were associated with increased BMI (r = -0.12, p = .027) and increased age (r = -0.26, p < .001). Higher NVS scores were associated with higher incomes (r = 0.21, p = .001) and higher education (r = 0.27, p < .001). Women scored significantly better than men (t = -2.0, p = .05). Participants' NVS scores in Hawaii versus Utah were not significantly different (t = .26, p = .80). CONCLUSIONS: Pathways to health literacy are complex; however, age, income, education, and BMI explained a modest 19.95% of the combined variance in NVS scores. Public health nurses working to improve health literacy could include review of critical information on nutrition facts labels, frequently used calculations, and application of this information when making food choices.
