Sexual assault victims: factors associated with follow-up care.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to describe patient, assault, and examination characteristics associated with compliance with follow-up in sexual assault victims.


METHODS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Ackerman
D R
DR
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Sugar
N F
NF
Fine
D N
DN
Eckert
L O
LO
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000293:injuries; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D005791:Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012742:Sex Offenses; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology