Nurses’ Awareness of Sexual Abuse Screening

Abstract

Nurses are often the first point of contact and care providers in emergency departments and high-risk clinics. However, sexual abuse screening rates by nurses have been consistently low. Although most nurses come into contact with victims of suspected sexual abuse, it is difficult for them to provide physical, psychological and legal interventions due to various demographic factors, interaction with victims and their families, lack of awareness of reporting, procedures and collection of forensic evidence. Sexual abuse is a common global health problem and is associated with a range of significant and lasting physiological and psychological health effects. Nurses may ignore screening for abuse due to concerns that the examination may trigger memories of abuse, concerns about providing appropriate care, and insecurities and inadequacies about the reporting procedure. Sexual abuse is not only a legal and social problem but also the focus of medical treatment. In-service trainings, legal regulations, clinical guidelines and evidence collection kits need to be developed for nurses to gain competence in sexual abuse screening. In addition, forensic nursing should be expanded in undergraduate, graduate and in-service nursing education. In this literature review, it was aimed to examine nurses’ awareness of sexual abuse, preventive factors and solution suggestions in the light of current literature.

Keywords

• awareness
• forensic nursing
• nurse
• screening
• sexual abuse

Hemşirelerin Cinsel İstismar Tarama Farkındalığı

Abstract

Hemşireler, çoğunlukla acil servislerde ve yüksek riskli kliniklerde bireyler ile ilk temasa geçen ve bireylere bakım sağlayan kişilerdir. Ancak hemşireler tarafından yapılan cinsel istismar tarama oranları sürekli olarak düşük bulunmuştur. Hemşirelerin çoğunluğunun cinsel istismar şüphesi olan mağdurlarla temasa geçmesine rağmen çeşitli demografik faktörler, mağdurlar ve aileleri ile kurulacak etkileşim, konu hakkındaki bildirimlere, prosedürlere ve adli delillerin toplanmasına yönelik farkındalık eksikliği nedeniyle fiziksel, psikolojik ve hukuki müdahalelerde bulunmaları güçtür. Cinsel istismar yaygın bir küresel sağlık sorunu olup, bir dizi önemli ve kalıcı fizyolojik ve psikolojik sağlık etkileriyle ilişkilidir. Hemşireler, muayenenin istismar anılarını tetikleyebileceği, uygun bakım sağlama konularında endişeleri ve bildirim prosedürü konusunda güvensizlik hissetme ve yetersizlikler nedeniyle istismar taramasını görmezden gelebilmektedir. Cinsel istismar, yalnızca hukuki ve sosyal bir sorun değil aynı zamanda tıbbi tedavinin odak noktasıdır. Hemşirelerin cinsel istismar taraması konusunda yetkinlik kazanabilmesi için hizmet içi eğitimlerin, yasal düzenlemelerin, klinik kılavuz ve delil toplama kitlerinin geliştirilmesi gerekmektedir. Ayrıca lisans, lisansüstü ve hizmet içi hemşirelik eğitimlerinde adli hemşirelik yaygınlaştırılmalıdır. Bu literatür derlemesinde, hemşirelerin cinsel istismar farkındalığını, engelleyen faktörleri ve çözüm önerilerini güncel literatür ışığında incelemek amaçlanmıştır.

Keywords

• farkındalık
• adli hemşirelik
• hemşire
• tarama
• cinsel istismar

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