Diagnosing and Discussing Sexual Abuse: A Scoping Review on Training Methods for Health Care Professionals

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Trauma-Informed Care

Background:

• Sexual abuse is a significant health issue with lasting consequences.
• Healthcare professionals face challenges in recognizing and discussing past sexual abuse with patients.
• Effective training is essential to improve the quality of care for sexual abuse survivors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of training methods for healthcare professionals on sexual abuse.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of various training approaches in improving healthcare providers' ability to address sexual abuse.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted, involving a broad search of six databases in December 2022.
• Study selection and quality assessment were performed by two independent reviewers.
• Data extraction from seven selected articles, primarily non-randomized trials involving 1299 healthcare professionals.

Main Results:

• Training courses varied in duration, setting, format, and methods, with overall moderate to poor quality.
• Participants showed improved self-perceived or measured knowledge, skills, and confidence in discussing sexual violence.
• Training was most effective when combining didactic (lectures, videos) and active (discussions, roleplay) methods, with timely reinforcement and opportunities for feedback and personal experiences.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare professionals can be effectively trained to recognize and discuss sexual abuse.
• An alternating mix of active and passive training methods, incorporating feedback and personal experiences, is recommended.
• Further research is needed to address the limitations in measuring training effectiveness and changes in clinical practice.