Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Background The prevalence of sexual violence (SV) in Palliative Care patients is frequent yet rarely discussed1 2; doctors receive no formal training in caring for them. Furthermore, clinicians may experience distress and vicarious trauma secondary to working with survivors of sexual violence.3 Strategies that prevent staff from burning out include developing support, personal awareness, debriefs4 and being trauma-informed.5 However, there is little research on SV in palliative patients and how best to support Specialist Palliative Care (SPC) staff and patients. Methods This project aimed to design and pilot test bespoke teaching on sexual violence for SPC healthcare professionals. Informed by a literature search into survivors’ experience of healthcare, a teaching session was designed by experts from a rape crisis centre and an SPC registrar. The one-hour session was delivered via MS Teams, covering: awareness of sexual violence; how to ask about sexual violence; and how to appropriately respond to disclosures, including the services available to support survivors. Feedback was collected anonymously and voluntarily. Results 10 members of the team attended. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with several participants mentioning the relevance of the teaching to their work, and their prior lack of confidence in this area: ‘This was an informative and very helpful session. The structure – myths, then scenarios, then thinking how we would speak about disclosures – facilitated helpful discussion about what can be quite a challenging topic’ ‘I will be more mindful of the possibility of sexual violence in my patients’ pasts, and am now more likely to broach it during consultations with palliative patients’ Conclusion This is the first documented attempt of teaching for SPC healthcare professionals on how to support survivors of sexual violence and respond to disclosures to deliver trauma-informed Specialist Palliative Care. This teaching has the potential to have a powerful impact on patient care and staff wellbeing. References Wygant Carmella, Hui David, Bruera Eduardo. Childhood sexual abuse in advanced cancer patients in the palliative care setting. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2011;42(2):290–295. Macpherson C. Childhood abuse uncovered in a palliative care audit. Palliative and Supportive Care 2009;7(4):481–486. doi:10.1017/S1478951509990484. Jirek SL. Soul Pain: The hidden toll of working with survivors of physical and sexual violence. Sage Open 2015;5(3). Melvin, Christina S. MS, PHCNS, BC, CHPN. Historical review in understanding burnout, professional compassion fatigue, and secondary traumatic stress disorder from a hospice and palliative nursing perspective. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing 2015;17(1):66–72. Ganzel Barbara L. Trauma-informed hospice and palliative care. The Gerontologist 2018;58 Issue 3:409–419.
Source: Oral Presentations
Authors: Alice Roberts, Jennifer Paskins
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408550528