Nonfatal Strangulation Knowledge and Experience in Health Care Professionals

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Public Health
• Forensic Medicine

Background:

• Nonfatal strangulation (NFS) is a high-lethality act often linked to intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
• Understanding of NFS among healthcare professionals outside forensic settings is not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess NFS knowledge and clinical decision-making across different healthcare roles.
• To determine if licensure type or clinical experience correlates with NFS knowledge scores.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 131 U.S. healthcare professionals.
• A 10-item composite knowledge score was analyzed using ANCOVA, controlling for years of experience.

Main Results:

• The mean composite knowledge score was 5.68 (SD=1.576).
• Licensure type significantly impacted scores (P=0.001), with nursing professionals scoring highest (M=6.22).
• Clinical experience was not significantly associated with knowledge scores (P=0.412).

Conclusions:

• NFS knowledge differs significantly by professional role, with nurses demonstrating higher scores.
• Findings suggest a need for standardized, cross-disciplinary education in strangulation recognition and management.
• Current educational and training approaches may not uniformly distribute essential knowledge.