Community Coordination and Victim Support: Lessons Learned from a Hospital-Based Technology System to Aid Victims

• In Event: Victim Service Providers, Provisions, and Technologies: Exploring Efforts to Serve the Needs and Experiences of Victims of Interpersonal Violence

Abstract

Hospitals serve large numbers of victims of interpersonal violence and may also be the only place victims seek formal services in the aftermath of violence. Other formal systems, such as law enforcement or victim services, can have little, slow, or inconsistent communication with hospitals despite the overlap among those they interact with who experience violence. In addition, the onus is on the victim to seek help from complex systems that are often difficult to navigate and many victims never receive services or support. To address this problem, a digital platform was created for forensic examination documentation and immediate electronic communication of mandatory reports of non-accidental interpersonal injury. While this platform holds potential to better connect victims with resources, there are concerns and challenges around mandatory reporting and the sharing of forensic examination information from the hospital to other formal systems, such as law enforcement. The research team at RTI has been working with the developers of the platform to pilot and evaluate implementation of the digitized system. The following presentation will discuss the key issues and considerations arising from this work, sharing lessons learned and direction for future research regarding technology solutions, forensic examination standardization, and mandatory reporting policies.

Authors

• Jaclyn Kolnik, RTI International

• Stefany Ramos, RTI International

• Paige Presler-Jur, RTI International