Acceptability, Feasibility, and Effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Group Education Sessions for Women Veterans with a History of Sexual Trauma

Women with a history of sexual violence may face obstacles to obtaining preventive health services. Group education models have been used in other settings to improve knowledge and uptake of care. Focus groups were conducted to solicit the concerns and input of the subject population. Interdisciplinary group education sessions (GESs) were designed specifically to address concerns voiced in focus groups. GESs were conducted, addressing mammograms, pelvic examinations, and menopause, and emphasized preventive health education, as well as shared decision-making. GESs were audio recorded and qualitative feedback was collected immediately after each GES. Surveys were administered before and after each GES to evaluate attitude and knowledge change. A total of 18 women attended the focus groups, and 27 women attended at least one GES, with 12 women attending both. GESs were well received, and participants cited the education, group support, and healing dynamic as benefits of participation. Content knowledge improved after all three GESs. Attitude change showed a trend toward improvement, but the sample size was not large enough to detect statistical significance. Group education is an acceptable and feasible model among survivors of sexual violence. GESs improved knowledge among this small group of participants. GESs could be made available in a wide range of topics, as requested by our participants. Larger studies are warranted to examine long-term knowledge and attitude change after GESs.