Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Health Practice Area, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States.
Appl Clin Inform. 2024 Oct;15(5):852-859. doi: 10.1055/a-2381-3487. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Hospital settings provide a unique opportunity to screen for intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA) yet often lack health information technology (IT) solutions for generating reliable and valid medicolegal documentation via forensic reports.
The objective of the project was to evaluate a pilot, technology "tool" for documenting cases of IPV and SA that could support forensic nurse examiners and related stakeholders in generating high-quality documentation and coordinating victim support services.
The tool was a digital health intervention implemented for use among forensic nurse examiners, law enforcement, victim support organizations, and more within four counties of California. We conducted a mixed-methods pilot study that captured data around the adoption, use, and impact of having access to the newly implemented tool.
The tool successfully went live in all four pilot counties at different time points with different proportions of use by county and form type: exams, referrals, addenda, risk assessments, and other. Participants were motivated to use the tool out of a perceived need for data handling functionalities that went beyond traditional manual (paper) means. Key functionalities included body mapping, data quality controls within validated forms, attaching addenda to already existing case reports, and the means to distribute data to external recipients. Further study and development are needed on functions to incorporate into body maps and forms and understanding the information needs of law enforcement and victim support organizations.
Our evaluation demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a health IT tool to support forensic nurse documentation of IPV and SA and direct information to multiple legal and support-related stakeholders. Areas of future development include integrating IPV- and SA-related data standards for digitized forms, enhancements to the body mapping feature, and understanding the needs of those who receive digital data from forensic nurse examiners within the tool.
医院环境为筛查亲密伴侣暴力（IPV）和性侵犯（SA）提供了独特的机会，但通常缺乏健康信息技术（IT）解决方案，无法通过法医报告生成可靠和有效的医学法律文件。
该项目的目的是评估一个试点、技术“工具”，用于记录 IPV 和 SA 病例，以支持法医护士检查人员和相关利益攸关方生成高质量的文件，并协调受害者支持服务。
该工具是一种数字健康干预措施，在加利福尼亚州的四个县的法医护士检查人员、执法人员、受害者支持组织等中实施使用。我们进行了一项混合方法的试点研究，该研究围绕采用、使用和使用新实施工具的影响收集数据。
该工具在所有四个试点县分阶段成功上线，各县的使用比例和表格类型不同：检查、转介、附录、风险评估和其他。参与者出于对数据处理功能的需求而使用该工具，这些功能超出了传统的手动（纸质）方式。关键功能包括身体绘图、在经过验证的表格中进行数据质量控制、将附录附加到现有的案例报告中，以及将数据分发给外部收件人的方法。需要进一步研究和开发将功能纳入身体绘图和表格的功能，并了解执法和受害者支持组织的信息需求。
我们的评估表明，一种健康信息技术工具支持法医护士记录 IPV 和 SA 并将信息直接传递给多个法律和支持相关利益攸关方是可行和可接受的。未来的发展领域包括为数字化表格整合 IPV 和 SA 相关数据标准、增强身体绘图功能，以及了解工具中从法医护士检查人员接收数字数据的人员的需求。
