Preservation of forensic traces by health professionals in a hospital in Northeast Brazil

Abstract

BackgroundHealth professionals who work in emergency services must be prepared for the recognition, collection, storage, preservation and documentation of all physical traces related to injuries or crime, because failures in these processes may compromise any forensic analysis. We, therefore, investigated emergency health professionals’ levels of knowledge about these processes and their abilities to implement them in practice during the care of victims of violence in an emergency unit of a specialized trauma hospital. MethodsThis was a survey to describe the knowledge of professionals working in the emergency department of the Sergipe Urgent Care Hospital (HUSE) in Sergipe state, Northeast Brazil about the preservation of forensic traces and their ability to implement the necessary related processes in practice. Their knowledge of the preservation of forensic materials and their abilities to implement the processes related to their preservation were assessed using the Portuguese version of the Questionnaire on the Preservation of Forensic Traces in Victim Assistance. ResultsA total of 144 health professionals completed the questionnaire, of whom 23 (16 %) were physicians, 33 (22.9 %) nurses and 88 (61.1 %) nursing technicians. Most physicians (15/65.2 %) reported knowing between 50 and 70 % of the required procedures, and the majority of nurses and nursing technicians knew less than 50 % (15/45.5 % and 72/81.8 %, respectively). Regarding their actual implementation, most physicians and nurses reported performing between 50 % and 70 % of the procedures (22/95.7 % and 15/45.5 %, respectively), while nursing technicians reported performing less than 50 % (55/62.5 %). ConclusionMost professionals in the three professions (physician, nurse and nursing technician) knew less than 50 % of the required procedures for the documentation, collection and preservation of forensic traces, which explains the low implementation of most of the actions, particularly those related to the collection and preservation of traces.