Establishing Sexual Assault Care Centres in Belgium: health professionals’ role in the patient-centred care for victims of sexual violence

Abstract

BackgroundHaving ratified the Convention of Istanbul, the Belgian federal government commits itself to the foundation of Sexual Assault Care Centres (SACC). In the light of researching the feasibility of these centres, this study aimed to evaluate the care for victims of sexual violence (SV) in Belgian hospitals anno 2016 as well as to formulate recommendations for the intended model.MethodsBetween April and October 2016, a questionnaire was distributed to 159 key health professionals active in 17 different hospitals attached to an AIDS Referral Centre. The survey covered four parts, i.e. the health professionals’ profile, their knowledge, attitude and practices, an assessment of the hospital’s policy and the caregivers’ opinion on the care for victims of SV and on the intended SACCs. Subsequently, a descriptive analysis using ‘IBM SPSS Statistics 23’ was performed.ResultsA total of 60 key health professionals representing 15 different hospitals completed the questionnaire resulting in a response rate of 38%. The results showed a lack of knowledge and practical experience of caregivers’ regarding the care for SV victims. Approximately 30% of responders face personal or professional difficulties upon provision of care to victims of SV. Participants evaluate the current care as good, despite the limited psychosocial support, follow-up, insight for the needs of vulnerable groups and support for family, relatives and health professionals. Yet, the majority of health professionals appraise the SACCs as the best approach for both victims and caregivers.ConclusionsBy introducing a SACC, the Belgian federal government aims to provide holistic and patient-centred care for victims of SV. Essential in patient-centred health care is an extensive and continuous education, training and supervision of health professionals concerning the care for victims, support for family, relatives and caregivers.At the end and as a result of a participatory process with many professional experts as well as victims, a specific Belgian model, adjusted to the health care system anno 2016 was developed for piloting. The main challenges in establishing SACCs are situated at the institutional and policy level. Collaborating with other institutions and further research are herewith required.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3608-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aspectos Epidemiológicos Da Leishmaniose Visceral No Estado Do Piauí No Período De 2015 a 2018

“…No que tange aos periódicos, a maior parte dos artigos foram publicados em revistas de saúde (SITHOLE et al, 2018;VANDENBERGHE et al, 2018;VIEIRA et al, 2016;COLOMBINI et al, 2013;JINA;JEWKES;CHRISTOFIDES;LOOTS, 2013;AMEELE et al, 2013). As revistas específicas da área de violência contra a mulher, saúde da mulher e ginecologia e obstetrícia tiveram um artigo cada respectivamente (BOWS, 2018; AMIN;…”

“…Do direcionamento dos estudos, três dos oito estudos avaliaram serviços de saúde que prestam assistência à pessoa em situação de violência sexual (SITHOLE et al, 2018;VANDENBERGHE et al, 2018;AMEELE et al, 2013), três atitudes e concepções dos trabalhadores (BOWS, 2018;AMIN;BURANOSKY;CHANG, 2017;COLOMBINI et al, 2013) e dois investigaram o processo de trabalho com foco no uso de protocolo em capacitação dos trabalhadores (VIEIRA et al, 2016 Apesar de a atenção à pessoa em situação de violência sexual ser considerada de boa qualidade, lacunas importantes são apontadas no processo de trabalho, como por exemplo a necessidade de conscientização sobre a oferta desta atenção aos grupos vulneráveis (VANDENBERGHE et al, 2018;BOWS, 2018;AMEELE et al, 2013), efetiva supervisão e auditoria dos profissionais, amplo apoio psicossocial e monitoramento ininterrupto dos sobreviventes (VANDENBERGHE et al, 2018), desenvolvimento de estratégias para uma efetiva comunicação (AMIN;BURANOSKY;CHANG, 2017;COLOMBINI et al, 2013), são apontados como pontos nevrálgicos da atenção.…”

“…O atendimento em saúde às pessoas que procuram os serviços foi considerado fragmentado (VANDENBERGHE et al, 2018;COLOMBINI et al, 2013), com acompanhamentos curtos e com limitação das responsabilidades (AMEELE et al, 2013).…”

Current care for victims of sexual violence and future sexual assault care centres in Belgium: the perspective of victims

“…Supervision should be provided in the centres to monitor the coping of the healthcare workers. This also came forward in another sub-study where caretakers asked for more supervision themselves [8]. After every in-debt interview or focus group of this study, the researchers took a moment to debrief and reflect on the testimonies to enable everyone to process the information.…”

“…Two other sub-studies mapped the current existing Belgian health services for victims of SV. On the one hand they noticed a clear fragmentation of existing health services which is a barrier in care accessibility [8]. On the other hand they noted that the Belgian hospitals are adequately equipped according to the international guidelines but a lack of cooperation between the different services, a lack of standardised protocols, and insufficient training of caregivers inhibit the expected provision of an integrated and coordinated care [9].…”