ArticleGlobal health action2024
Care-seeking patterns and timely access to care among survivors of sexual violence in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a retrospective file-based study.
Article in Global health action, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Characteristics of violence, timely care-seeking and perceived barriers: a cross-sectional analysis of sexual violence among displaced and resident populations in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Community perceptions about factors influencing access to care after sexual violence in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: a qualitative study.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Obstacles to emergency medical consultation in cases of conflict-related sexual violence.PloS one · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSexual violence is widespread in war-torn North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Timely access to care is crucial for the healing and wellbeing of survivors of sexual violence, but is problematic due to a variety of barriers. Through a better understanding of care-seeking behaviours and factors influencing timely access to care, programmes can be adapted to overcome some of the barriers faced by survivors of sexual violence.
objectiveThe aim of this study was to describe demographics, care-seeking patterns and factors influencing timely care-seeking by survivors of sexual violence.
methodsRetrospective file-based data analysis of sexual violence survivors accessing care within two Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) programmes supporting the Ministry of Health, in North Kivu, DRC, 2014-2018.
resultsMost survivors (66%) sought care at specialised sexual violence clinics and a majority of the survivors were self-referred (51%). Most survivors seeking care (70%) did so within 3 days. Male survivors accessing care were significantly more likely to seek care within 3 days compared to females. All age groups under 50 years old were more likely to seek care within 3 days compared to those aged 50 years and older. Being referred by the community, a family member, mobile clinic or authorities was significantly associated with less probability of seeking care within 3 days compared to being self-referred.
conclusionAccess to timely health care for survivors of sexual violence in North Kivu, DRC, is challenging and varies between different groups of survivors. Providers responding to survivors of sexual violence need to adapt models of care and awareness raising strategies to ensure that programmes are developed to enable timely access to care for all survivors. More research is needed to further understand the barriers and enablers to access timely care for different groups of survivors.
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