Pediatricians are likely to be the first, and often only professionals who encounter the 68% of American children who have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is defined by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network as medical care in which all parties involved assess, recognize, and respond to the effects of traumatic stress on children, caregivers, and healthcare providers. This includes attention to secondary traumatic stress, the emotional duress that results when an individual hears about the firsthand trauma experiences of another. In the clinical setting TIC includes the prevention, identification and assessment of trauma, response to trauma and recovery from trauma as a focus of all services. TIC can be conceptualized in a public health stratification:
The resources below provide information and guidance on how pediatricians and health care providers can make their practices trauma-informed.
Trauma Toolbox for Primary Care
The Resilience Project
PATTeR (Pediatric Approach to Trauma, Treatment and Resilience
Child Abuse and Neglect
STAR Center (Screening Technical Assistance and Resource Center)
Healthy Foster Care America
Early Brain and Child Development