Implementing Patient-Centered Trauma-Informed Care for the Perinatal Nurse.

Adverse childhood experiences and trauma significantly impact physical and mental health. Increased maternal perinatal depression/anxiety, preterm labor, and low birth weight, as well as infant morbidity and mortality, are some examples of the impact of trauma on perinatal health. Trauma-informed care begins with knowledge about trauma, the ability to recognize signs of a trauma response, responding to patients effectively, and resisting retraumatization. As holistic providers, perinatal nurses can create safe care environments, establish collaborative patient relationships based on trust, demonstrate compassion, offer patients options when possible to support patient autonomy, and provide resources for trauma survivors. This can prevent or reduce the negative impact of trauma and improve the health and well-being of infants, mothers, and future generations. This clinical article outlines key strategies for implementation of patient-centered trauma-informed perinatal nursing care.

Current State of Trauma-Informed Education in the Health Sciences: Lessons for Nursing.

BACKGROUND: Trauma has significant effects on individuals' health. Nurses are well-positioned to deliver trauma-informed care; however, there is a lack of trauma nursing education. The development of trauma education in nursing is just beginning; therefore, it is unclear what details should be integrated into nursing courses. METHOD: CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases were searched to identify theoretical and empirical literature regarding trauma-information educational practices in health sciences. RESULTS: Given that different disciplines have their specific training goals and requirements, trauma-related course goals, content, format, and structure are distinct and unique across disciplines. Educators in health sciences developed guidelines for trauma curricula and strategies for maintaining classroom safety. CONCLUSION: Trauma curricula in other health science disciplines provide a framework for creating trauma curricula in nursing programs. More groundwork is needed to integrate trauma into nursing education. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(2):93-101.].

Trauma-Informed Care: Helping Patients with a Painful Past.

Life trauma is highly correlated with an increased risk of mortality from chronic disease. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an evidence-based approach to deliver healthcare in a way that recognizes and responds to the long-term health effects of the experience of trauma in patients' lives. Four essential features and six defining concepts delineate a TIC approach to healthcare. Nurses can realize the benefits and learn the tenets of TIC to deliver superior care to patients with chronic illness.

Evaluating trauma nursing education: An integrative literature review.

OBJECTIVE: A review of the current literature evaluating trauma nursing education. BACKGROUND: A variety of trauma nursing courses exist, to educate nurses working in trauma settings, and to maintain their continuing professional development. Despite an increase in the number of courses delivered, there appears to be a lack of evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of trauma nursing education and in particular the justification for this resource allocation. DESIGN: Integrative literature review. DATA SOURCES: A search of international literature on trauma nursing education evaluation published in English from 1985 to 2015 was conducted through electronic databases CINAHL Plus, Google Scholar, PubMed, Austhealth, Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science), Sciverse Science Direct (Elsevier) & One file (Gale). Only peer reviewed journal articles identifying trauma course and trauma nursing course evaluation have been included in the selection criteria. REVIEW METHODS: An integrative review of both quantitative and qualitative literature guided by Whittemore and Knafl's theoretical framework using Bowling's and Pearson's validated appraisal checklists, has been conducted for three months. RESULTS: Only 17 studies met the inclusion criteria, including 14 on trauma course evaluation and 3 on trauma nursing course evaluation. Study findings are presented as two main themes: the historical evolution of trauma nursing education and evaluation of trauma nursing education outcomes. CONCLUSION: Trauma nursing remains in its infancy and education in this specialty is mainly led by continuing professional development courses. The shortage of evaluation studies on trauma nursing courses reflects the similar status in continuing professional development course evaluation. A trauma nursing course evaluation study will address the gap in this under researched area.

Incorporation of Sexual Violence in Nursing Curricula Using Trauma-Informed Care: A Case Study.

BACKGROUND: One in five women will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. As a consequence of this violence, survivors face health care concerns such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and gynecologic problems. Nurses are at the forefront of health care delivery to survivors of sexual violence, yet literature about nursing curricula addressing sexual violence is scant. METHOD: A holistic, single-case study from a student survivor about the impact of sexual violence, being taught from a trauma-informed care perspective, is presented. RESULTS: The powerful case study highlights the personal and professional benefits stemming from a sexual violence curriculum being taught from a trauma-informed care lens. The student survivor reports personal growth and an understanding of herself, as well as a new framework with which to care for patients who have experienced sexual violence. CONCLUSION: In preparation to deliver care to sexual violence survivors, students must be educated about the prevalence, long-term sequela, and health care needs of survivors, which can be effectively done using the model of trauma-informed care. The student's case suggests that discussing sexual violence is imperative for one's own healing and contribution to the nursing profession.