Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Nov 23;21(1):2144. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12227-0.
Sexual violence is a public health concern globally and locally, and trauma-informed services are put in place to mitigate its consequences. A few studies have evaluated the quality and uptake of these trauma-informed services for sexual violence. This study aimed at; i) assessing the knowledge of participants about trauma-informed services, ii) exploring the attitudes of females about trauma-informed services, and iii) assessing different factors associated with the utilization of trauma-informed services.
This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional qualitative design. The participants were females at Kyangyenyi health center III and Kigarama health center III in Sheema district, southwestern Uganda. We used a purposive sampling procedure for all participants and then a consecutive sampling of females. Data about; knowledge of trauma-informed services for sexual violence, attitudes towards trauma-informed services, and factors influencing the utilization of trauma-informed services were collected using an in-depth interview guide. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis.
We interviewed 32 participants. There was a high prevalence of sexual violence, and it was a big concern in the community. Many of the respondents were not sensitized about trauma-informed services. Most of them knew only about HIV treatment. Our study shows that a good section of females did not seek the services after being sexually violated due to the fear of the perpetrator, bribing of the family of the affected and authorities, or even fear of family breakup and stigmatization. There were a lot of bribery, poor road networks, and inadequate health care services. These hindered survivors of sexual violence from utilizing trauma-informed services.
There was a knowledge gap about trauma-informed services for survivors of sexual violence. There was sexual violence in the community. Sensitization needs to be done among the populations by respective authorities to iron out issues of ignorance about the services and health workers evaluated for competence in offering the trauma-informed services.
性暴力是一个全球性和地方性的公共卫生问题，为此已经建立了以创伤知情服务来减轻其后果。一些研究已经评估了这些性暴力创伤知情服务的质量和接受程度。本研究旨在：i）评估参与者对创伤知情服务的了解，ii）探讨女性对创伤知情服务的态度，以及 iii）评估与创伤知情服务利用相关的不同因素。
本研究采用描述性的横断面定性设计。参与者是乌干达西南部 Sheema 区 Kyangyenyi 卫生中心 III 和 Kigarama 卫生中心 III 的女性。我们对所有参与者使用了目的抽样程序，然后对女性进行连续抽样。使用深度访谈指南收集有关性暴力创伤知情服务的知识、对创伤知情服务的态度以及影响创伤知情服务利用的因素的数据。使用主题内容分析进行数据分析。
我们采访了 32 名参与者。性暴力的发生率很高，这是社区的一个大问题。许多受访者对创伤知情服务没有敏感认识。他们中的大多数人只知道 HIV 治疗。我们的研究表明，由于对施害者的恐惧、受害人家属和当局的贿赂，甚至是对家庭破裂和污名化的恐惧，很大一部分女性在遭受性侵犯后没有寻求服务。还存在大量贿赂、糟糕的道路网络和不足的医疗保健服务，这阻碍了性暴力幸存者利用创伤知情服务。
性暴力幸存者对创伤知情服务存在知识差距。社区存在性暴力。需要由相关当局对民众进行宣传，以消除对服务的无知问题，并评估卫生工作者在提供创伤知情服务方面的能力。
