Effectiveness of Brief Interventions for Sexual Assault Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Sexual assault is a pervasive social issue worldwide, with significant harmful impacts on survivors’ mental health and well-being. Sexual assault services that provide specialist crisis and therapeutic programs are contending with long waiting lists. Brief interventions are emerging as a potential strategy to provide timely care, but it is important to know whether these approaches remain effective in improving patient outcomes. Aim: To synthesize evidence informing the effectiveness of brief interventions on person-centered outcomes for people who have experienced sexual assault. Methods: Four databases were systematically searched for trials testing the effectiveness of brief interventions (≤6 sessions) for sexual assault survivors. Studies were appraised, and data was extracted. Results from trials with homogenous data were combined in meta-analyses, and evidence certainty was assessed using GRADE. Remaining studies were synthesized descriptively. Results: Eighteen studies were included. Meta-analyses of randomized trials (n = 7) provide moderate certainty evidence that brief interventions improve symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (6 studies), depression (4 studies), and anxiety (2 studies). Results across other controlled and single-group pre-post studies further supported these findings. Discussion: Brief interventions can have a significant impact on reducing mental health symptoms for survivors who have experienced a sexual assault, providing support for the use of these models of care to broaden the reach and accessibility of sexual assault support services. There is limited evidence about other person-centered outcomes, such as quality of life measures, when considering brief interventions.