Analysis of the knowledge and practices of health care workers in Emergency Departments regarding the protection and preservation of evidence in forensic cases

BACKGROUND
The frequency of violent incidents is increasing. This increase has made the role of Emergency Department (ED) staff more important in the collection, recording, protection, and storage of the evidence until the arrival of the responsible people concerned with the issue. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the knowledge and practices of the nursing staff working in the EDs with respect to the protection and preservation of the evidence in forensic cases.
METHODS
This research, which was designed to be descriptive, was conducted with 44 health care workers in the hospitals with Emergency Departments in the center of Bolu province between October 2008 and January 2009.
RESULTS
It was observed that 90.9% of the health care workers encountered forensic cases, 65.9% of them had not attended any training on forensic cases, and 22.7% of them did not use care when removing and storing the clothes of the patient. It was considered that 90.9% of the health care workers duly carry out their duties and responsibilities in forensic cases; however, 18.2% of them do not have sufficient knowledge or practical experience in the preservation and protection of evidence in forensic cases.
CONCLUSION
It was observed that most health care workers do not have sufficient knowledge or practical experience in the preservation and protection of evidence in forensic cases.

Acil servislerde çalýþan saðlýk bakým personelinin adli olgularda delillerin korunmasý ve saklanmasýna yönelik bilgi ve uygulamalarýnýn incelenmesi

AMAÇ
Þiddet olaylarýnýn sýklýðý artmaktadýr. Bu artýþ acil servis çalýþanlarýnýn konu ile ilgili görevliler gelene kadar saklama, koruma, kayýt tutma ve kanýt toplama durumlarýnda önemini artýrmýþtýr. Bu çalýþmada, acil servislerde çalýþan saðlýk bakým personelinin adli olgularda delillerin korunmasý ve saklanmasý ile ilgili bilgi ve uygulamalarý incelendi.
GEREÇ VE YÖNTEM
Tanýmlayýcý tipte planlanan bu araþtýrma Ekim 2008 ile Ocak 2009 tarihleri arasýnda Bolu il merkezinde acil servisi bulunan hastanelerde, araþtýrmaya katýlmaya istekli hemþireler, saðlýk memurlarý ve acil týp teknikerleri olmak üzere 44 saðlýk bakým personeli ile gerçekleþtirildi.
BULGULAR
Saðlýk bakým personelinin %90,9’unun adli olgu ile karþýlaþtýðý, %65,9’unun adli olgularla ilgili eðitim almadýðý ve %22,7 hastanýn elbiselerini dikkatlice çýkartýp saklamayacaðý görüldü. Saðlýk bakým personelinin %90,9’unun adli bir olgularda üzerine düþen görev ve sorumluluklarý tam olarak yerine getirdiðini düþünmelerine raðmen, onlarýn %18,2’sinin delillerin saklanmasý ve korunmasý konusunda yeteri kadar bilgiye sahip olduðu görüldü.
SONUÇ
Saðlýk bakým personelinin büyük çoðunluðunun delillerin saklanmasý ve korunmasý konusunda yeteri kadar bilgiye sahip olmadýðý görüldü.