title: Sexual assault victims: factors associated with follow-up care.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Ackerman
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Sugar
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: L O
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Eckert
mesh_terms: 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