Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Department of Anesthesiology, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 21;9(11):e031087. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031087.
Worldwide, an estimated 10%-27% of women are sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Despite the enormity of sexual assault as a public health problem, to our knowledge, no large-scale prospective studies of experiences and recovery over time among women presenting for emergency care after sexual assault have been performed.
Women ≥18 years of age who present for emergency care within 72 hours of sexual assault to a network of treatment centres across the USA are approached for study participation. Blood DNA and RNA samples and brief questionnaire and medical record data are obtained from women providing initial consent. Full consent is obtained at initial 1 week follow-up to analyse blood sample data and to perform assessments at 1 week, 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. These assessments include evaluation of survivor life history, current health and recovery and experiences with treatment providers, law enforcement and the legal system.
This study is approved by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB of each participating study site. We hope to present the results of this study to the scientific community at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals.
在全球范围内，估计有 10%-27%的女性在其一生中遭受过性侵犯。尽管性侵犯是一个严重的公共卫生问题，但据我们所知，尚未对在遭受性侵犯后到急诊就诊的女性进行大规模的前瞻性研究，以了解她们的经历和随时间的恢复情况。
美国各地的治疗中心网络在性侵犯后 72 小时内为年龄在 18 岁及以上的女性提供急诊护理，并邀请她们参与研究。从提供初步同意的女性中获取血液 DNA 和 RNA 样本以及简短的问卷调查和医疗记录数据。在最初的 1 周随访时获得完整同意，以分析血液样本数据，并在 1 周、6 周、6 个月和 1 年时进行评估。这些评估包括评估幸存者的生活史、当前健康和恢复情况，以及与治疗提供者、执法部门和法律系统的经历。
本研究已获得北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的机构审查委员会 (IRB) 和每个参与研究地点的 IRB 的批准。我们希望在会议和同行评议期刊上向科学界介绍这项研究的结果。
