Journal of forensic nursing最新文献

Aims: This article explores the underreporting of sexual violence (SV) in higher education, highlighting serious implications for survivors who may silently cope with its aftermath instead of accessing crucial resources.

Methods: We utilize Bolman and Deal's four-frame model for organizational change to assess how internal factors within organizations may influence reporting of SV. The four frames-symbolic, structural, human resources, and political-offer a systematic analysis of the internal organizational context in higher education institutions concerning SV reporting.

Results: Our suggested approach offers concrete dimensions and probing questions for examination. Derived from a qualitative study, our recommendations align with Bolman and Deal's four-frame model, aiding in assessing the organizational environment. This approach assists stakeholders in identifying barriers/facilitators in the internal organizational context of higher education institutions, enabling effective planning for improved SV reporting/disclosure.

Conclusions: A thorough analysis is essential for understanding factors influencing campus SV reporting. Our proposed critical analysis and recommendations serve as a starting point to identify organizational barriers/facilitators, informing the revision of SV policies and processes, including reporting.

Potential impact of improved sexual assault reporting in higher education institutions on forensic nursing and survivors/victims allies: Enhanced reporting of sexual assault in higher education benefits forensic nurses and allies, like student affairs, advocacy groups, unions, SV coordinators, health centers, equity departments, human rights officers, and administration. Improved analysis of institutional and cultural contexts allows for tailored services to better meet survivors' needs. Increased reporting should lead institutions to higher service utilization, requiring careful planning for resource allocation.

Abstract: Because nursing theory is integral to effective nursing practice, education, and research, today's faculty are expected to weave nursing theory throughout the nursing curricula at both advanced and entry academic levels. However, incorporating nursing theory across all courses may be unfamiliar for many faculty. In this article, a senior-year elective course in forensic nursing included in a prelicensure baccalaureate curriculum with a Neuman Systems Model focus is presented. Suggested forensic nursing metaparadigm concepts, a possible schedule of topics and activities, and samples of Neuman Systems Model-based assignments are provided. This example could easily be adapted to other nursing theories and/or to other courses across the curriculum. Also emphasized is the importance of nurses providing trauma-informed care for all clients and reinforces the value of accurate evidence collection techniques and documentation. Finally, this course offers students a view of forensic nursing as a viable career choice.

Background: Survivors of intimate partner violence are at a high risk for having a brain injury because of high rates of strangulation and head and face injuries sustained from physical abuse. In addition to acute physical injuries, survivors experience various health complications.

Problem: Many survivors do not seek medical attention for their injuries, and when they do, their brain injury often goes unrecognized and untreated. Research indicates that screening for brain injury can be an effective intervention to increase the identification of brain injuries and medical referrals for diagnosis and treatment. Unfortunately, brain injury screening is not a standard of care.

Methods: Shelter-seeking clients were routinely screened for brain injury using a modified HELPS screening tool. A positive screen prompted a medical referral.

Intervention: A modified HELPS screening tool was utilized with permission for the project.

Results: Before implementation, 36 individuals entered shelter, 0 were screened for brain injury, and the medical referral rate was 19.4% ( n = 7). After implementation, 40 clients entered shelter, 36 were screened for brain injury, 77.8% ( n = 28) screened positive, and the medical referral rate was 80.6% ( n = 29).

Conclusions: Brain injury screening may be an effective evidence-based intervention for shelter-seeking survivors of intimate partner violence to increase medical referrals.

Abstract: Student mental health nurses have greater patient contact than registered nurses, and this is appreciated by patients. This phenomenological study explored the impact of patients and student mental health nurses' time shared on forensic units for men carrying a personality disorder diagnosis. Phenomenology was the underpinning philosophy of this research. Patients and student mental health nurses in forensic hospitals participated in unstructured hermeneutic interviews. The time students and patients shared together was considered a gift, enabling them to feel that they were "just people" and valued, strongly impacting on their sense of person. The impact the students have on patients' quality of life is meaningful. When the students and patients connected, it had powerful implications for their sense of humanness and value, highlighting the reciprocal impact they each have on another and the importance of having student nurse clinical placements in forensic wards and facilities.Implications for Clinical Forensic Nursing Practice: This article offers a unique contribution to forensic practice by exploring the experiences of the time patients and students share together in forensic units. Students, who often have the greatest contact with patients, represent the present and future of nursing, and their time is appreciated by patients. Previous research focuses on attitudes and therapeutic relationships, rather than the impact of shared contact. In addition to this, patients in forensic services with personality disorder diagnoses can be the most stigmatized group in mental health care, and exploration of their experiences is lacking. These experiences must be shared.

Background: Much of the research on sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs) focuses on program outcomes rather than the individual experiences of SANEs. The present research therefore sought to examine the individual experiences of SANEs regarding trauma, support, training needs, and challenges.

Methods: A national sample of SANEs participated in an online survey. In addition to a series of questions on work-related challenges and training needs, participants also completed the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (Bride et al., 2004) and the Professional Quality of Life Scale Stamm, 2009). Written survey responses were analyzed for themes regarding support services and training needs.

Results: One hundred twelve SANEs from 24 U.S. states participated in our survey. Of these, 74 SANEs completed the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale, and 69 SANEs completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Overall, SANEs reported little secondary trauma or burnout. Furthermore, SANEs identified key areas in which additional training would be beneficial, including trial preparation, photography, and hands-on training.

Discussion: Self-reported trauma and burnout findings are discussed in light of the high use of support services such as therapy, decompressing with other SANEs, and leisure activities. Our findings provide valuable information for supervisors and training providers of SANEs and have important implications for future SANE research.

Background: Although hotly disputed, coercive measures are widely used in mental health services globally. In Denmark, to ensure the rights of patients, special psychiatric legislation that emphasizes the imperative to always use the least intrusive intervention has been implemented. This raises the question of which coercive measures are perceived as being less intrusive than others.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of Danish mental health professionals regarding the intrusiveness of various coercive measures used in mental health settings.

Methods: We conducted a web-based survey among 132 mental health professionals (response rate: 22%). The participants rated the intrusiveness of different coercive measures using the visual analog scale (VAS).

Results: Mental health professionals perceived mechanical restraint as being the most intrusive coercive intervention (belt and strap fixation received a VAS rating of 92 out of 100). Conversely, body searches and observation were perceived as being among the least intrusive measures, with VAS ratings of 35 and 50, respectively. Participants with different professional backgrounds, including general and forensic mental health workers, tended to perceive the coercive measures included in this study as being equally intrusive.

Conclusion: The participating mental health professionals generally perceived belt fixation as a highly intrusive measure, whereas seclusion, which is currently illegal under Danish law, was considered less intrusive. Because of the small sample size in this study, caution should be exercised when drawing conclusions based on the findings. Nevertheless, the study may add to how the principle of using the least intrusive measure is interpreted.

Background: Forensic nursing is an evolving specialty focusing on healthcare when legal issues are involved. Valid tools are needed to assess emergency department (ED) nurses' performance of forensic nursing role behaviors and their corresponding perceptions. We aimed to translate and culturally adapt the original English version of the "Emergency Department Forensic Nursing Survey" (EDFNS) into Persian and evaluate its psychometric properties among ED nurses.

Methods: This methodological study was conducted in 2022. The EDFNS was translated into Persian. Face and content validity, along with construct validity (exploratory/confirmatory factor analyses) and reliability (internal consistency/test-retest reliability), were assessed.

Results: The EDFNS-P (EDFNS-Persian) items were appropriate, clear, and relevant in face validity assessment. Content validity was satisfactory for all items (content validity ratio = 0.66/content validity index = 0.92). In total, 274 nurses completed the questionnaires. The EDFNS-P consisted of five factors, namely, identifying forensic cases, acting as a forensic nurse specialist, assisting with legal investigations, providing holistic supportive care, and protecting forensic evidence, explaining 56.49% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis assessment showed a good model fit. The EDFNS-P demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and stability (α = 0.902/intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.938).

Conclusion: The concept of forensic nursing role behaviors within Iranian EDs is multidimensional. The EDFNS-P is a 37-item reliable and valid scale. It can help identify areas requiring improvement, promote better collaboration among healthcare professionals, and increase recognition of the specialty. Future studies examining the factor structure in different contexts are suggested to validate the findings. Further research is needed to assess the Persian version of the EDFNS in countries where forensic nursing roles are increasingly emerging.

Background: Violence against sexual and gender minorities is a significant concern on university campuses.

Methods: A needs assessment self-report survey was administered to LGBTQIA+ university campus community members to assess perceptions of vulnerability, interest in, and beliefs related to personal safety/self-defense (PS/SD) training at a public Midwestern university.

Results: Forty-three LGBTQIA+ campus community members responded to the survey. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed reported a history of physical or sexual interpersonal violence. Respondents reported being fearful or occasionally fearful for their personal safety in a variety of day-to-day situations surveyed. Using rideshares, going out alone after dark, and going to parties were some of the most frequently feared situations. Most, 73%, believed that PS/SD training would increase their feelings of overall safety and would improve their ability to defend themselves, with up to 66% expressing interest in attending PS/SD training held in a format of 2-hour sessions occurring weekly.

Conclusions: This survey supports the need for inclusive and accessible PS/SD training tailored to the specific needs of LGBTQIA+ university campus community members to enhance campus safety.