NU 629 Week 7 Discussion 1 Trauma-Informed Care as Relating to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

Sample Answer

Definition of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a model of care for healthcare professionals in which trauma-inducing events that have occurred in patients’ lives are identified and acknowledged; this information is then used to better understand patients, connect with them, tailor appropriate care plans, and improve patient outcomes (Berg-Poppe et al., 2021).

In the pediatric setting, traumatic or negative events that would precede the need for trauma-informed care are usually categorized as adverse childhood experiences (ACE) (Huang et al., 2021).

Stress & Health Relationship

Emotional/mental stress and physical health are inherently intertwined. Stress can contribute to a lack of engagement in health-promoting behaviors (exercise, healthy eating), weight gain, and decreased immune function (Thomas-Davis et al., 2020).

In addition, stress (both current and historical), can lead to maladaptive coping mechanisms, depression, anxiety, and issues maintaining relationships (Thomas-Davis et al., 2020). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs illustrates how when patients are experiencing stress and do not feel secure in their current state, they have challenges reaching their full potential in all other areas, which hinders their overall health (Crandall et al., 2020).

APRN Application

As a future pediatric APRN, I will be caring for the vulnerable population of children. I will make a great effort to integrate trauma-informed care into my practice and advocate for it to be commonplace in my organization, like many others are doing in pediatric care (Berg-Poppe et al., 2021).

Knowing that adverse childhood experiences (both traumatic and non-traumatic) have such a profound impact on the future mental and physical health of children and adults reiterates the importance of employing trauma-informed care programs into practice as early as possible to assure more sensitive, effective care for our patients (Huang et al., 2021).

References

• Berg-Poppe, P., Anis Abdellatif, M., Cerny, S., LaPlante, K., Merrigan, M., & Wesner, C. (2021). Changes in knowledge, beliefs, self-efficacy, and affective commitment to change following trauma-informed care education for pediatric service providers. Psychological Trauma
  
• Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https //doi.org/10.1037/tra0001083
  Crandall, A., Powell, E. A., Bradford, G. C., Magnusson, B. M., Hanson, C. L., Barnes, M. D., Novilla, M. L. B., & Bean, R. A. (2020). Maslow’s
  hierarchy of needs as a framework for understanding adolescent depressive symptoms over time. Journal of Child & Family Studies,
  29(2), 273–281. https //doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01577-4
  
• Huang, Y., Liu, H., & Masum, M. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences and physical and mental health of adults Assessing the mediating role of cumulative life course poverty. American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(5), 637–647.
  
• Thomas-Davis, A., Bullock, A. P., Hooper, H., & McCluney, M. K. (2020). The effects of stress on first-year graduate students in health professions. Journal of the National Society of Allied Health, 17(1), 56–62.