Dennis Michael, Freeman Amy, Olagunju Andrew T
Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University.
Psychol Trauma. 2023 Oct;15(7):1172-1176. doi: 10.1037/tra0001380. Epub 2022 Sep 29.
The prevalence of trauma exposure is remarkably high globally. In Canada, for example, it is estimated that over 75% of the national population have experienced a traumatic event during their lifetime. While exposure to trauma is linked with a number of poor health-related problems, the teaching of trauma informed care (TIC) principles across Canadian medical schools is uncertain, and many primary care providers (PCP) feel underprepared to have discussions regarding trauma with their patient. The purpose of this report is to promote the teaching and better knowledge of TIC among health professional learners.
A team of medical and health sciences students at a Canadian university hosted a virtual, interdisciplinary and educational Trauma Informed Care Conference (TICC) that was targeted toward health care learners using an interactive panel of interdisciplinary experts.
A total of 107 participants attended the TICC. Select lectures were presented to improve participants' knowledge of TIC through a myriad of lenses, including historical, cultural, developmental/perinatal, intergenerational, and system-oriented sources. TIC was presented as promoting trauma awareness, trust, safety, collaboration, autonomy, and a strengths-based approach to care.
We advocate for better awareness of TIC, the associated trauma theories, and implementation of the core values and principles of TIC in the training of health professionals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
