The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct…

The University of South Dakota received a $450,000 Project Grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under the OVW Research and Evaluation Program (CFDA 16.026). The grant will fund a 3-year study to evaluate the implementation of the ESANE telemedicine model for providing post-assault medical forensic care to sexual assault patients in rural and indigenous communities across five states. The research team, which includes partners from the University of Illinois Chicago and Avel eCare in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, will use a mixed-methods approach involving interviews, focus groups, site visits, and document review to assess implementation fidelity, adaptations, and sustainability plans. The goal is to generate evidence-based knowledge on effective strategies for serving survivors and holding offenders accountable in rural areas. The award was made on November 1, 2023, with a final completion date of October 31, 2026.

The research and evaluation (R & E) initiative is authorized by 34 USC 12291(B)(7), which permits OVW to set aside up to three percent of available funds from most OVW programs to conduct evaluations of promising practices for combatting domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and to research problems emerging in the field. By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from violence against women act (VAWA) funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of building empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of making communities safer and more just. A research team from the university of south dakota and the university of illinois chicago, in partnership with with avel ecare in sioux falls, south dakota, will carry out this study. The project will evaluate the implementation of the esane model, a telemedicine approach to providing post-assault medical forensic care to sexual assault patients, as adopted by 45 critical access hospitals in rural communities across five states. Using a sequential mixed-methods design that involves interviews, focus groups, site visits, and document review, the research team will evaluate implementation fidelity (meaning the extent to which the program is implemented as intended), implementation adaptations, particularly those made to meet the needs of rural and indigenous populations, and plans for sustainability after grant funding ends.