Enforcement and assurance of patient rights during the management of sexually abused girls in Hungary

Background: There is no professional protocol for the assessment of sexual abuse survivors under the age of 18 in Hungary. Objectives: The aim of our study is to determine the enforcement and assurance of the patient's rights during the diagnosis and therapy of female victims. Participants: and Setting: A retrospective population-based study in Hungary. Methods: Outpatient charts were examined due to the following characteristics: presence of a family member during the examination, establishment of the informed consent, documentation by the patients’ own words, establishment of the information of the post-event pill, possibility of psychological support. Results: Majority of the victims were in primary school age, most of the patients were 14 years of age. A family member was present at the examinations in less than 20 %, informed consent was not given in one-third of the cases. In two-third of the cases where no family member was present at the examination did not have information either. More than two-third of the cases had no psychological support. Without a family member present at the examination, no proposal was given about a psychological support. Post-event pill was available to one-fifth of the patients of 16 years of age; even less often to patients of 17 years of age. Conclusion: Hungarian health care handles the patients’ rights in a manner that does not optimize the potential for therapeutic intervention while simultaneously meeting the needs of law enforcement. Postambulant information is essential in order to prevent posttraumatic stress and psychological disorders.