Abstract
ImportanceSexual assault is a public health concern for women and is associated with subsequent psychosocial health risks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hazardous drinking, and intimate partner violence (IPV). Sexual assault is associated with social stigma and other barriers shown to inhibit one from seeking mental health care. Digital health technologies may overcome these barriers.ObjectiveTo test the impact of a brief computerized intervention delivered in primary care to reduce health risks and increase mental health treatment utilization among women with histories of sexual assault and current health risks.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThe Safe and Healthy Experiences (SHE) program was tested in a randomized controlled trial with N = 153 women veterans at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center, and they completed assessments at baseline, 2 months, and 4 months.InterventionSHE is a brief motivational interviewing and psychoeducation-based computerized intervention. SHE was compared to a screen and referral-only control condition.Main MeasuresHealth risks were measured via validated self-report instruments. Treatment initiation and utilization were measured via self-report and chart review.ResultsSHE did not impact women’s number of health risks (all p’s > .05). However, women randomized to SHE showed significantly greater increases in treatment use compared to women in the control group, as measured by chart review (χ2 (1, n = 153) = 4.38, p = .036, rs = .16), and self-report (χ2 (1, n = 130) = 5.89, p = .015, rs = .21). SHE was found to be an acceptable intervention.ConclusionsSHE was effective in improving mental health treatment initiation and utilization compared to a control group. Computer-based interventions to address sexual trauma and its consequences are acceptable, are highly scalable, and can add value to primary care with little cost or increase in provider time.Trial RegistrationClinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02957747.
Highlights
Results of Mantel-Haenszel chi-square tests indicated that the group difference in number of risks was just over the .05 significance level, χ2 (1, n = 152) = 2.82, p = .09; effect size rs = .13, with those in the Safe and Healthy Experiences (SHE) group reporting a higher number of risks
At 2 months, the linear association between group and number of risks was significant and participants assigned to SHE were more likely to have a higher number of risks, χ2 (1, n = 117) = 3.94, p = .047; rs =
The satisfaction questionnaires were completed a total of 95 times by 72 participants primary and secondary outcomes, the total number of analyses reported for number of health risks and treatment use was large given that we examined health risks at both 2 and 4 months and presented both unadjusted and adjusted treatment effects for all outcomes
Summary
To test the impact of a brief computerized intervention delivered in primary care to reduce health risks and increase mental health treatment utilization among women with histories of sexual assault and current health risks. The primary goal of this study was to test the impact of a computerized screener and brief intervention delivered in primary care on number of health risks and mental health treatment utilization among women with histories of sexual assault and positive screens for PTSD, hazardous drinking, or IPV
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
