Trends in US Emergency Department Use After Sexual Assault, 2006-2019.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medicine
• Sociology

Background:

• Adult sexual assault (SA) survivors often face emergent health issues but infrequently seek emergency medical care.
• Understanding the patterns of emergency department (ED) utilization by SA survivors is crucial for improving healthcare delivery and reducing adverse outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the incidence of adult SA-related ED visits in the United States between 2006 and 2019.
• To identify demographic and socioeconomic factors influencing SA survivors' decisions to seek ED care.
• To analyze trends in hospital admission rates for SA-related ED visits.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study utilizing data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (2006-2019), encompassing over 35.8 million ED visits.
• Inclusion of data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program for crime statistics.
• Analysis of patient-related factors including age, sex, race, ethnicity, income, and insurance status.

Main Results:

• SA-related ED visits increased dramatically by over 1533.0% from 3,607 in 2006 to 55,296 in 2019.
• Admission rates for SA-related ED visits decreased from 12.6% to 4.3% during the study period.
• Female, younger, and lower-income individuals were more likely to present to the ED; older and Medicaid-insured patients had higher admission rates.

Conclusions:

• US adult ED visits for SA significantly increased between 2006 and 2019.
• The study identified key populations accessing emergency care and those requiring inpatient services.
• Findings can inform policy and programming to better support this vulnerable population.