Graduate Publications and Other Selected Works - Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Fall 2025

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Hispanic/Latino population is disproportionately affected by sexual assault but simultaneously faces barriers that keep them from accessing care, including language barriers and fear of discrimination. As many as 28% of Latinos in the United States are not fluent in English, demonstrating a need for high-quality medical interpretation.

LOCAL PROBLEM: National guidelines recommend that interpreters be pre-briefed to facilitate communication with traumatized individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). This project aimed to improve patient satisfaction by implementing a Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) briefing between the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) and interpreter. The specific aims of this project were to 1) Increase overall satisfaction in patients with LEP to ≥4.5, 2) Achieve 60% adherence to SBAR pre-briefing, and 3) Increase the number of patients with LEP seeking SANE services by 10% by 12 weeks.

METHODS: The Model for Improvement guided this evidence-based quality improvement project.

INTERVENTIONS: When a patient with LEP presented after sexual assault, the SANE used SBAR to brief the interpreter before the medical-forensic exam. Community outreach efforts focused on providing awareness of services and patient rights. Data was collected using pre- and post-implementation satisfaction surveys.

RESULTS: During the 13-week implementation period, 86 patients sought acute sexual assault care through SACET. There were no encounters where an interpreter was needed for the patient and 2 where the interpreter was considered for family. Sixteen organizations were contacted to spread awareness of services. Of those, 4 organizations expressed interest in distributing educational materials and/or organizing an event for sexual assault awareness.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with LEP face significant barriers to reporting sexual assault. This project was implemented during a time of reduced healthcare-seeking behaviors related to immigration enforcement concerns. These findings demonstrate the importance of ongoing engagement with immigrant communities and ensuring culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS