PEARR: Five Steps to Victim Assistance in Health Care Settings
Holly Austin Gibbs, BA | September 22 | 1:45-2:45 pm
Topic: Healthcare | Knowledge Level: Intermediate
CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest Catholic health care systems and the second largest nonprofit hospital system in the nation, implemented a system-wide Abuse, Neglect, and Violence policy/procedure. A key component of this policy/procedure is the PEARR Tool, which guides health professionals on how to offer victim assistance to patients in a trauma-informed, healing-centered manner. In this presentation, attendees will learn more about the PEARR Tool and recent research to evaluate its effectiveness. The PEARR steps are based on an approach in which patients are empowered with information about violence and resources before further screening is conducted. The goal is to have an informative conversation with patients to promote health, safety, and well-being and to create a safe environment for affected patients to naturally share their own experiences and possibly accept further services. PEARR stands for Provide privacy, Educate, Ask, Respect & Respond. The PEARR Tool, a three-page handout that summarizes the PEARR steps, is based on learnings gathered from CommonSpirit physicians and staff who have had experience in identifying and assisting patients affected by abuse, neglect, and violence, and on learnings shared by national subject matter experts and organizations. This includes learnings from the “CUES model”, an evidence-based intervention from Futures Without Violence, in which health professionals are encouraged to use safety cards to talk with all patients about the health effects of domestic and sexual violence. The presenters include a clinician and survivor of human trafficking, both representatives of CommonSpirit Health and its system-wide Human Trafficking Response Program.
Presentation Objectives:
· Educate attendees about human trafficking using the PEARR approach
· Describe how to assist patients with referrals to community agencies using the PEARR approach
· Explain how to access resources and tools that can assist with this process