Sexual assault nurse examiner programs in the United States

Study objective: We sought to provide a descriptive study of the Sexual Ass ault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs and their characteristics in the United States. Methods: A confidential survey addressing patient and staff demographics, a dministration attributes, examination procedures, and medical and legal iss ues was mailed to SANE programs in the United States. Results: Sixty-one (66%) of 92 programs responded. More than half of the pr ograms (32/58 [55%]) had been in operation for less than 5 years. Thirty (5 2%) of the 58 programs performed the initial sexual assault examination in hospital emergency departments. Written consent (57/59 [97%]) was obtained for the initial examination, and most (51/59 [86%]) programs used preprepar ed commercial sexual assault kits. Program directors were predominately reg istered nurses. All but one program mandated specific training requirements for their staff, with a median requirement of 80 hours. Procedures used fo r initial examinations varied; most offered pregnancy testing (56/58 [97%]) , pregnancy prophylaxis (57/59 [97%]), and sexually transmitted disease (ST D) prophylaxis (53/59 [90%]). HIV testing was not offered in 32 (54%) of 59 programs. Almost all programs used Wood's lamp (51/59 [86%]), colposcopes (42/59 [71%]), and photographs (46/59 [78%]) for documentation. Median time required per patient for initial examination and evidence collection was 3 hours (range, 1 to 8 hours). Follow-up is consistently offered to the surv ivor. Most programs (45/61 [74%]) could report the number of survivors trea ted, but few could provide information on survivor medical follow-up or the number of prosecutions by survivors and their outcomes. Conclusion: This survey provided an overview of SANE programs. SANE program s are similar across the country with regard to staffing, training, STD and pregnancy prophylaxis, and documentation techniques. They are inconsistent in the use of STD cultures, HIV testing, and alcohol and drug screening. S ANE programs were unable to provide data regarding survivor follow-up and l egal outcomes. This information is essential to evaluate the programs' effe ctiveness and to improve performance. The need for better outcome data shou ld be addressed to define success or failure of SANE programs.