Rural health, forensic science and justice: A perspective of planning and implementation of a sexual assault nurse examiner training program to support victims of sexual assault in rural underserved areas

The long-standing history of low or no reporting of sexual assault in rural areas, creates health disparities and justice inequity for these rural communities. In this brief perspective piece, a rural sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program is described in the hopes that dissemination will lead to increased numbers of rural SANEs, increased reporting of sexual assaults in rural and underserved communities, increased prosecution rates of sexual assault perpetrators, and program sustainability through the provision of a nurse-centered approach to training and support.