Forensic nursing - Global scenario and Indian perspective

The effectiveness of a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) on knowledge, skill and practice regarding sexual assault examination (SAE) among nurses working in a tertiary care hospital in Udupi district, India: A study protocol

The medico-legal care of victims of sexual assault is very challenging, and requires specific knowledge and skills. Professionals in the emergency departments of hospitals might not have specialised training in forensic science. Nurses have a very significant role in these settings, but they lack any formal forensic training. This study aims to develop a sexual assault nurse examiner-grounding program (SANE-GP) for Indian nurses to inculcate knowledge and skill regarding sexual assault examination. The study adopts a three-stage Delphi technique to develop the training module and uses a time-series design to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. A questionnaire on nurses' knowledge on sexual assault examination (KQSANE-I) will be developed in phase-I and subsequently used in phase-II. The protocol of SANE-GP will help the medical community to implement the program across India. The implementation of SANE-GP can also help to start a sexual assault nurse examiner network.

Atuação do enfermeiro na preservação de vestígios na violência sexual contra a mulher: revisão integrativa

RESUMO Objetivo Analisar os desafios da atuação do enfermeiro na preservação de vestígios nos casos de violência sexual contra a mulher, evidenciados na literatura. Método Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa, realizada nas bases de dados SCOPUS, Cochrane, LILACS, MEDLINE, CINAHL e no Google Acadêmico, em janeiro de 2021. Utilizaram-se os descritores Sex offenses e Forensic Nursing, combinados com o operador booleano AND. Foram encontrados 207 artigos e selecionados 15. Resultados Os desafios identificados foram: carência de recursos humanos e de formação em enfermagem forense; formação de enfermeiros para coleta de vestígios; execução limitada de procedimentos para a preservação de vestígios; conflitos entre o papel do enfermeiro no cuidado e na coleta de vestígios; ausência de protocolos ou padronização dos já existentes; subnotificação dos casos de agressão; falta de tempo e medo da responsabilidade legal ou represália; ausência de instrumentos legais que regulamentem as atribuições do enfermeiro e seu papel na cadeia de custódia das provas. Conclusão e implicações para a prática Ações que visem capacitar os enfermeiros. A criação de protocolos, de forma a ampliar e implementar políticas públicas já existentes, são imprescindíveis para o fortalecimento da atuação do enfermeiro na preservação de vestígios nos casos de violência sexual contra a mulher.

Consequences of Presence of Forensic Nurses in Health Care System: A Qualitative Study

Background:

Nursing is a vital element in providing safe and effective care. Forensic nursing is one of the specialties in this discipline which, in addition to creating more satisfaction in nurses, is considered essential in holistic, quality, and safe care. This study aimed to describe the consequences of the presence of forensic nurses in the health system.

Materials and Methods:

This qualitative study was conducted between 2017 and 2018 in Iran. Semi-structured interviews were performed with 18 participant experts in the field of health and law. The interviews were analyzed using the inductive content analysis approach proposed by Graneheim and Lundman.

Results:

The consequences of the presence of nurses in the health system were summarized into two categories: positive and negative consequences. The positive consequences consisted of improved performance, better legality of nurses, the calmness of nurses, prevention of patients' rights violations, advancement comparable with developed countries, reduced costs, increased accuracy and speed in dealing with forensic cases, improved performance of Iranian Legal Medicine Organization and increased employment. On the other hand, the negative consequences were role conflict with other involved professionals and nursing shortage. Participants included nurses (with different specialties), nurse lawyers, forensic medicines, forensic midwives, a judge, and a medical lawyer.

Conclusions:

If planners and policymakers have a positive attitude toward the presence of forensic nurses, we can anticipate better forensic services for clients through the development of systematic educational programs, the formation of forensic teams, and the expertise of this profession can provide many benefits.