Abstract
BackgroundSurvivors of sexual violence, who are predominantly women, commonly access mental health services. Psychiatric inpatient units in Australia are predominately mixed gender and may further retraumatise these women. Sexual violence is under-recognised by mental health professionals and there is a lack of adequate policy or direction for mental health service services. To date, only a small amount of research has focused on health professionals’ experiences of providing trauma-informed care to women in psychiatric settings, with most studies focused on specific practices or interventions. Qualitative data is particularly lacking on this topic. This is a critical gap in the knowledge given that health professionals are key to detecting and addressing victimisation. The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions in providing care to women who are survivors of sexual violence in psychiatric inpatient units.MethodsThis qualitative study utilised semi-structured interviews with 40 health professionals recruited from four psychiatric inpatient units within a large Australian public mental health organisation. Data were examined using thematic analysis.ResultsThree main typologies were developed to describe participants’ experiences of the care provided to women; 1) Dismissing and denying; 2) Acknowledging but unprepared; 3) Empathising but despairing.DiscussionGender, professional training, adherence to the biomedical model, and level of experience influenced health professionals’ experiences.ConclusionsHealth professionals in this study held varying attitudes towards female consumers and responses to sexual violence. Our findings suggest the need to address individual staff perception and promote trauma-informed and gender-sensitive care across all disciplines, genders, and levels of experience.
Highlights
Sexual violence is prevalent in Australia and worldwide [1, 2] and it impacts negatively on mental health [2]
One in three women presenting at inpatient or outpatient mental health services has previously experienced domestic violence, including sexual violence [6]
The prevalence of sexual violence reported at time of admission to a psychiatric inpatient unit in Australia and USA varies across studies, with estimates between 5 and 45% [3]
Summary
Sexual violence is prevalent in Australia and worldwide [1, 2] and it impacts negatively on mental health [2]. A small study in Victoria (n = 50), Australia noted that almost half (45%) of women reported historic sexual assault and 67% reported sexual or other harassment while accessing a psychiatric inpatient unit [7]. Only a small amount of research has focused on health professionals’ experiences of providing trauma-informed care to women in psychiatric settings, with most studies focused on specific practices or interventions. Qualitative data is lacking on this topic This is a critical gap in the knowledge given that health professionals are key to detecting and addressing victimisation. The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare professionals’ experiences and perceptions in providing care to women who are survivors of sexual violence in psychiatric inpatient units
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