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Citation
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Hoffman EE, Wegrzyn A, Greeson MR, Zinter KE, Tull P, Balata M. Psychol. Violence 2023; 13(2): 107-116. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: While nurses and rape victim advocates have unique and separate responsibilities in caring for sexual assault survivors in the emergency room, successful care requires collaboration between the two responders. The purpose of this study was to explore sexual assault nurse examiners' (SANEs) and non-SANEs' perceptions of helpful and unhelpful communication with advocates and the impact these perceptions have on the nurse, the nurse-advocate relationship, and the nurse-patient relationship.
METHOD: Data were collected via semistructured interviews (N = 22) with SANEs (n = 6) and non-SANEs (n = 16) in a large Midwestern city. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes relevant to nurses' perceptions of communication with advocates.
RESULTS: Nurses perceived advocates communicating with them throughout a patient's stay; sharing their expertise; providing constructive feedback; and reinforcing and acknowledging their work as helpful. Conversely, nurses perceived advocates asking unwelcome questions and interrupting; being critical; and providing incorrect information as unhelpful. Helpful communication strategies improved nurse-patient relationships, nurse-advocate relationships, and helped nurses' work, while unhelpful strategies interrupted nurses' work and hindered nurse-advocate and nurse-patient relationships. SANEs and non-SANEs perceived communication from advocates similarly; however, SANE training and years of nursing experience revealed unique aspects of these findings.
CONCLUSION: Nurses suggested tangible communication strategies advocates can employ to improve nurse-advocacy relationships and patient care. However, some strategies named as unhelpful may be a necessary part of an advocate's role in service to survivors. Thus, more research and intervention are needed to promote nurse-advocacy collaboration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Language: en |