Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Informatics
Date Submitted: Sep 22, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Oct 28, 2024 - Dec 23, 2024
Date Accepted: Aug 26, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Sexual Assault Report: Creation and Implementation of an Electronical Form at Geneva University Hospitals
ABSTRACT
Background:
During a sexual assault report, physicians gather a significant amount of information: socio- demographic characteristics of the victims, events and documentation of injuries. However, the literature highlights the lack of comparative information from available clinical research studies. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Council of Europe emphasized the urgent need for a common methodology to document sexual assaults and to strengthen care.
Objective:
We describe the methods used at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Emergency Departments (ObGyn ED) of Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) to create a comprehensive, systematic and reproductible digital datasheet for medico-legal sexual assault reports, with the aim of informing the creation of a regional sexual assault patient cohort for French-speaking Switzerland. Integrated into the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR), the ease of access restricted to authorized staff should enhance the efficiency of the clinical workflow.
Methods:
Identification of data and variables of the electronic Sexual Assault Report (eSAR) was guided by a retrospective study conducted between 2018 and 2021 in the Swiss University Hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne and included 740 sexual assault reports. Standardized classifications and clinical scales were utilized. For one year, the eSAR was revised and improved by a multidisciplinary panel of experts, through clinical application.
Results:
The implementation of the eSAR ensures the collection of 100% of selected variables, monitors data to identify finalized and not finalized records and provides full traceability of access for security. Designed to be inclusive of gender diversity, the eSAR is replicable for Adult and Pediatrics ED.
Conclusions:
Our method for medico-legal sexual assault reporting builds a comprehensive IT guideline for new doctors through harmonized terminologies and decreases administrative burden to finalize reports. The eSAR provides IT assistance for the clinical and administrative management of patients and is intended to contribute to overall efforts to improve research and health services.
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Copyright
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