Efficacy of a 2-year-old sexual assault nurse examiner program in a Canadian hospital

• Published in: Journal of emergency nursing Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 18 - 23
• Main Authors: Stermac, Lana E., Stirpe, Tania S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Mosby, Inc 01-02-2002
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Clinical Competence; Emergency Nursing - organization & administration; Emergency Service, Hospital - organization & administration; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nursing; Nursing Care - methods; Ontario; Physical Examination - nursing; Physical Examination - standards; Practice Patterns, Physicians; Probability; Program Evaluation; Registries; Sampling Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sexual Harassment; Ontario
• ISSN: 0099-1767; 1527-2966
• DOI: 10.1067/men.2002.119975

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program at a hospital-based sexual assault care center in Ontario, Canada, and assess its efficacy in comparison with physician examiners. Methods: Data obtained from the hospital records of 515 women who came to a Toronto sexual assault care center were examined. A number of variables relevant to this assessment of services were examined, including client demographics and presenting history, aspects of the sexual assault, and characteristics of the treatment. Results: Average assessment times were shorter for victims seen by SANEs than for victims seen by physicians (approximately 3¼ hours versus 4 hours). Physicians had more interruptions (25.1%) than did SANEs (20.0%). Client characteristics and presentation were similar regardless of who provided care, with some exceptions. Discussion: The results of the study support the utility of the SANE model as an efficient program for the assessment and treatment of victims of sexual assault.