Sexual Violence and Substance Use Diagnosed in Emergency Department Discharges in Hawaii, 2005-2014

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Substance use (SU) and sexual violence (SV) are significant public health concerns with substantial costs.
• Individuals with substance use disorders have a higher risk of experiencing sexual violence.
• Underreporting of both SU and SV complicates the analysis of their relationship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the proportion and demographics of emergency department (ED) visits involving individuals reporting sexual violence with or without substance use disorder.
• To compare the number of ED visits for individuals diagnosed with SV and SU disorder to all individuals.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data from 24 Hawaii hospitals (2005-2014).
• Included 3.5 million observations.
• Employed descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests to assess statistical significance.

Main Results:

• 17% of ED visits involving sexual violence were also related to substance use disorders.
• This is significantly higher than the 8% of all ED visits related to substance use.
• A greater proportion of individuals reporting sexual violence also reported substance use disorders compared to the general population.

Conclusions:

• The relationship between substance use and sexual violence is complex and warrants further investigation.
• Survivors of sexual abuse may develop substance use disorders.
• Substance use may increase the risk of experiencing sexual violence.