Kari Sampsel

Medical Director, Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program, Attending Staff Emergency Physician The Ottawa Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine & University of Ottawa

  • Ottawa ON

Emergency Medicine, Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Clinician, Educator and Advocate

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Biography

Dr. Kari Sampsel is a staff Emergency Physician and the Medical Director of the Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program at the Ottawa Hospital and an Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa.
She completed medical school and her Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada specialty training in Emergency Medicine at Queen’s University. She undertook fellowship training in Clinical Forensic Medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, and is currently the only Canadian physician to hold this designation. She has been active in the fields of forensic medicine and medical education, with multiple international conference presentations, publications and committee work. Dr. Sampsel has been instrumental in working with community groups and launching a number of community initiatives, including bystander intervention training for preventing sexual assault. She has been honoured with a number of national awards in recognition of her commitment to education and awareness.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Health and Wellness
Health Care - Providers
Health Care - Services
Medical/Dental Practice
Safety
Women

Areas of Expertise

Emergency Medicine
Sexual Assault
Domestic Violence
Intimate Partner Violence
Sexual Assault Awareness
Women's Health and Wellness
Injury Mechanisms
Injury Prevention
Advocacy for Maginalized Populations
Sexual Assault and Violence
Medical Education

Accomplishments

Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Dr. Al Drummond Advocacy Award

2016-06-06

The Dr. Alan Drummond Advocacy Award will be presented to a CAEP member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership, commitment and dedication to the cause of advancing the discipline at the regional, national or international level through advocacy efforts.

University of Ottawa Department of Emergency Medicine Mentorship Award

2016-06-16

The University of Ottawa Department of Emergency Medicine Mentorship Award is given annually to the staff physician who shows leadership and compassion to the resident physicians. This was the inaugural year for this award.

Education

Queen's University

FRCPC

Emergency Medicine

2008

Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine

Diploma in Clinical Forensic Medicine

Clinical Forensic Medicine

2007

Only Canadian physician to hold this designation.

Queen's University

MD

Medicine

2003

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Affiliations

  • Assistant Program Director - Royal College Emergency Medicine Program - University of Ottawa 2010 - 2016
  • Unintentional Overdose/Harm Reduction Task Force - City of Ottawa
  • College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario - Peer Assesor
  • Vice-Chair - Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Trauma and Injury Prevention Committee
  • Department of Emergency Medicine Emergency Physician Association Executive Committee Member
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Languages

  • English

Media Appearances

One in Four Sexual Assaults Happen in a Crowd

Huffington Post  online

2016-01-19

In their study, a Canadian research team looked at sexual assault cases at mass gatherings in Ottawa. Victims tended to be younger, potentially drugged, and knew their attacker 30 percent of the time when the assault happened at a big event.

The research team was led by Kari Sampsel, clinical medical director of the Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Program at the University of Ottawa. She tells us more about their results.

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Distinctive risk factors tied to sexual assaults at large events

Reuters  online

2015-09-03

Women who are sexually assaulted at large events like festivals and holiday gatherings are often young, intoxicated and unfamiliar with their attacker, according to a small Canadian study.

More than a quarter of sexual assaults happen at mass events like festivals, student orientations and holiday celebrations, the study authors say, and prevention efforts should focus on the distinctive risk factors in these cases.

Kari Sampsel, medical director of the Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP) at Ottawa Hospital, told Reuters Health that she and her colleagues were inspired to do the study after they noticed more women were coming in for care around holidays and other times of celebration.

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Distinctive risk factors tied to sexual assaults at large events

Fox News  online

2015-09-03

Women who are sexually assaulted at large events like festivals and holiday gatherings are often young, intoxicated and unfamiliar with their attacker, according to a small Canadian study.

More than a quarter of sexual assaults happen at mass events like festivals, student orientations and holiday celebrations, the study authors say, and prevention efforts should focus on the distinctive risk factors in these cases.

Kari Sampsel, medical director of the Sexual Assault and Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP) at Ottawa Hospital, told Reuters Health that she and her colleagues were inspired to do the study after they noticed more women were coming in for care around holidays and other times of celebration.

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Event Appearances

International Festivals and Events Association

Annual Convention  Tucson, AZ

2016-09-28

Ontario Festival and Events Convention

Ontario Festivals and Events Convention  Sault Ste Marie

2017-03-02

GHB, Memory and Sexual Assault

Carleton University Sexual Assault Awareness Week  Carleton University

2017-02-06

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Research Grants

Characteristics Associated with Sexual Assault at Mass Gatherings

Women's Xchange $9600

2015-04-01

Sexual assault is an important public health concern affecting approximately 50% of women. The Ottawa Hospital Sexual Assault Partner Abuse Care Program (SAPACP) aims to explore the incidence of sexual assault during public events, also known as mass gatherings. Mass gatherings are defined as an organized event occurring within a defined space attended by a large number of people. Anecdotally, the number of sexual assault victims seen after these gatherings increases but no studies have quantified this or examined the associated risk factors. This topic has not previously been reported on, and the goal is to specifically assess the sexual assault risk to women participating in mass gatherings. A health records review from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013 will be performed. This time frame will capture all mass gatherings occurring in Ottawa without duplication. Collecting data to produce knowledge surrounding themes of patient population characteristics, mass gathering attendance, disclosure of alcohol/drug consumption, timing of presentation to the SAPACP, and nature of sexual assault will be conducted by the team. By quantifying and characterizing these assaults, better event planning and prevention strategies can be deployed to enhance the health of women. - See more at: http://womensxchange.womensresearch.ca/15k/funded-projects/#sthash.vKTJivlj.dpuf

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Increasing the Offer, Shifting the Offer: Adapting, Evaluating and Recommending Strategies to Engage with Persons Unaware of their Positive HIV Status

CIHR

2016-03-17

We propose to implement and comprehensively evaluate, from the perspectives of
both personnel and differentially socially-located women and men, a model for the integration of routine,
provider-initiated non-targeted HIV counseling and point-of-care testing into a Hospital Emergency Department, a
community primary health services programme, and a population-based community organization. HIV counseling
and testing would be routinely offered without providers needing to assess the probability of engagement, or
individuals needing to acknowledge, a specific HIV-related risk behavior or practice. This strategy has the potential
to reduce the experienced stigma associated with client-initiated HIV testing documented to be a significant barrier
in accessing timely uptake of HIV testing; minimizes lost opportunities of raising HIV counseling and testing due to
providers’ inaccurate assessment of individual risk, normalizes HIV counseling and testing as part of regular care,
and facilitates linkages into medical care for people testing positive. We propose that offering these services in
venues that extend beyond medical institutions and that are easily accessed by our target populations will remove
many of the experienced and perceived structural barriers to accessing testing.

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Articles

Characteristics Associated with Sexual Assaults at Mass Gatherings

Emergency Medicine Journal

2015-08-27

What is already known on this subject?
Sexual assault occurs most often to women between the ages of 18 and 30 years, usually occurs in the victim's home and the assailant is known to the victim between 60% and 85% of the time.

Little is known about the incidence and circumstances of sexual assault associated with mass gatherings.

What might this study add?
In this review of sexual assault cases reported to the only referral centre in Ottawa in 2013, 26% occurred at mass gatherings.

Assaults at mass gatherings occurred more often at holidays and university frosh week.

Victims of sexual assault at mass gatherings were younger, more likely to have consumed alcohol/drugs, to suspect they had been drugged and only knew their assailant 30% of the time.

The distinct nature of sexual assaults at mass gatherings requires a unique approach to prevention, education and policy.

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The Impact of a Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Program on ED Care

Journal of Emergency Nursing

2009-07-01

Introduction
Examination and management of the sexually assaulted patient comprise a complex task. On-call nurses with advanced training are used in some hospitals, but their impact on patient care and appropriate forensic examination is largely unknown. We evaluated the impact of the introduction of a sexual assault/domestic violence program (SADVP) on ED flow, comprehensive patient care, and collection of forensic evidence.

Methods
Patients presenting to the 2 emergency departments in the Kingston area (Ontario, Canada) (population, 250,000) after sexual assault were compared during 2 time periods: (1) before SADVP implementation (January 2001 through August 2004) and (2) after SADVP implementation (September 2004 to August 2006). ED, hospital discharge, SADVP, and police records were reviewed. Data abstraction included patient demographics, assault characteristics, forensic examination results, and treatment protocols.

Results
The incidence of patients presenting with a complaint of sexual assault doubled (61 cases before SADVP implementation and 92 cases after SADVP implementation). Median times to initial clinical evaluation were lower in the post-SADVP group (20 minutes vs 33 minutes, P = .04). Patients in the post-SADVP group reported less vaginal/anal penetration (77% vs 98%, P < .001) and had fewer genital injuries (13% vs 39%, P = .007); other sexual assault characteristics were similar between the 2 study periods. Forensic kits were completed more often in the post-SADVP group (77% vs 66%, P = .18). Pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prophylaxis was offered more consistently after SADVP implementation (98% vs 85%, P = .007), as was counseling (100% vs 95%, P = .06).

Discussion
The profile of patients observed after SADVP implementation changed to include less stereotypical sexual assaults. Introduction of the SADVP decreased wait times for sexually assaulted patients, despite the need for the on-call nurses to attend the emergency department. This program also showed higher completion on a number of important indicators of quality of care: forensic kits, counseling, and pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease prophylaxis.

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