Rapid assistance for victims of acute violence-Current treatment in outpatient trauma clinics in Germany

Abstract

Assistance following acute violence was previously regulated by the Victim Compensation Act (OEG). At the beginning of the current year it was replaced by the Social CodeXIV (SGBXIV). The SGBXIV defines new groups of beneficiaries, outpatient trauma clinics must be provided nationwide and binding criteria for the quality of care were established. The aim of this study was to map the current status of care in outpatient trauma clinics in accordance with the requirements of the new SGBXIV. With respect to new beneficiaries, the status of services for victims of human trafficking was recorded as an example. Outpatient clinics that provide rapid assistance under the OEG or SGBXIV were surveyed on structural and content-related aspects of their work. An online survey consisting of 10thematic modules was used. Data were obtained from atotal of N = 110 outpatient clinics (response rate 50%). The participating outpatient clinics reported awide range in terms of the number of staff and the number of people seeking counselling. Some of the outpatient clinics reported deficits with respect to structural aspects, such as the waiting time for the initial consultation and specific training in trauma treatment for staff. The majority of outpatient clinics were uncertain about how to deal with victims of human trafficking. Outpatient trauma clinics appear to reach their target population and provide appropriate services for their care; however, asignificant number of outpatient clinics need to make improvements in order to fulfil the quality criteria of SGBXIV and provide adequate care to new groups of beneficiaries.