Sexual Assault Education on a College Campus: A Trauma-Sensitive Approach

Abstract

Sexual assault (SA) is a widely-known problem across college campuses. Increased reports in the media have led to legislative efforts mandating effective SA prevention programs be in place on college campuses. The 2013 Campus Sexual Violence Act (SaVE) and the 2014 Campus Security Act mandated that U.S. colleges protect students from SA and provide effective SA education (Buchholz, 2015). Nursing has the responsibility to promote the health and safety of college students through patient education and evidence-based care practices. Building trauma-sensitive care practices into student health care delivery is an important part of the broad-based effort to support students who may have experienced SA (USDOE, 2015). Increased education and early identification of SA may reduce the adverse impact on the physical, emotional, and academic well-being of students. Early identification of SA may reduce negative short-term and long-term health outcomes (Sutherland, 2016). Implementation of “Safe Place” trauma-sensitive approaches of care creates a healthy environment that supports students affected by trauma through universal messages of SA prevention, safe places, and resources for help which may lead to expansion of health services, for students to thrive and succeed. Providers and staff in campus health centers can help students find the resources needed to address the trauma from SA. Students need to feel safe, know the types of resources available, and understand acceptance to use resources (Delovah & Cattaneo, 2017). Trauma-informed screening practices guides clinician approaches in understanding how trauma impacts health, peer relationships, academic progress, and mental health (McCauley & Casler, 2015). Research has indicated the value of having a trauma-informed specialist into practice (Reeves, 2015). The lack of standardization in SA programming indicates the need for change. Providers and students do not possess adequate knowledge of what SA is, and are unaware of the campus resources available. The purpose of this DNP project was to educate college health center providers on the use of trauma-sensitive care practices, evidence-based screenings, and resources available to student patients who may have been sexually assaulted. The study used quantitative methodology and a descriptive study research design with two groups of participants. The study for the DNP project was conducted over six weeks during the Spring 2018 academic semester at a University Health Center (UHC). UHC providers and staff (n=9) agreed to participate in the study and attended a lunch-and-learn education session on trauma-sensitive care practices related to SA. The UHC providers and staff were administered a pretest, a post-test, and a 6-week follow-up post-test. Over 100 students (n=125) voluntarily participated in completing an evidence-based screening survey that focused on SA and received education about SA resources available. Benefits from the project included participants increased knowledge and awareness of trauma’s relation to SA, and identification of resources with recognition of the University Health Clinic as a “Safe Place” for help. “Safe Place” allows for identification of opportunities to collaborate and cross-train other responsible organizations to incorporate trauma-sensitive practices into the campus-wide SA prevention and response plan (USDOE, 2015).