A new study led by University of British Columbia researcher Elizabeth Saewyc and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota nurse practitioner Laurel Edinburgh says that a nurse intervention program that helps sexually exploited runaway girls re-connect to family, school and health care reduces trauma and restores healthy behaviors.
The study, published online this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health, and due out in print later this year, examined the effects of the Runaway Intervention Program (RIP) at Children's Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. Girls and their families reported significant improvements in family and school relationships, self-esteem and grades after participating in RIP. The researchers also found significant reductions in emotional distress, substance use, suicide attempts, and risky sexual behaviors."Runaways often become isolated from supportive family and school relationships, which are important for healthy development," says Saewyc, a professor in UBC's School of Nursing who also holds a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Public Health Chair in Youth Health. "When they are also sexually assaulted or exploited, where can they turn for help in coping with the trauma? RIP was designed to reintroduce protective relationships back into young girls' lives and help them heal."
Through the intervention program, nurses worked beyond the clinic to support girls and their families with home and school visits. In addition to providing health exams and health education, they used creative problem-solving strategies to improve communication between family members, help girls stay in school, and find the support they need to be healthy.
"Remarkably, by six and 12 months into the program, the girls had improved so much that in most areas they were indistinguishable from girls in school who had never been abused," says Saewyc, who is also a scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute at BC Children's Hospital.
Edinburgh attributes the program's success to the individualized approach to health care, which may include interfacing with law enforcement and community services.
"Every runaway girl has a unique set of circumstances, issues and needs and therefore require individualized intervention in order to restore a supportive environment that would help them heal," says Edinburgh. "These could range widely from working with the school's police officer to make the school a safe environment, free from threats of gang members to helping find free piano lessons as a reward for ongoing school attendance.
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"CIHR understands the importance of helping sexually exploited runaway girls reconnect with family members and return to school to ensure positive and healthy development," says Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of CIHR's Institute of Gender and Health, which helped fund the study. "Abuse has a devastating effect on people's lives, so it is essential to invest in programs that give victims an equal chance of success and hope for the future."
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Source-Eurekalert
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