Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a widely adopted organizational approach to health and human services. The current study occurred within a residential addiction treatment agency and has two aims: To operationalize the processes, an agency can take to become trauma informed and assesses the impact of a multiyear TIC implementation project on organizational climate, procedures, staff and resident satisfaction, and client retention in treatment. Pearson w 2 tests were computed to assess variation in client satisfaction and discharge status, while climate, procedures, and staff satisfaction were assessed by effect size differences. Following TIC implementation, there were positive changes in each of the five outcomes assessed. Workplace satisfaction, climate, and procedures improved by moderate to large effect sizes, while client satisfaction and the number of planned discharges improved significantly. The current study provides support for implementing TIC. Future research may continue to examine the influence of TIC implementation.
Trauma Talks: Rising from the Ashes is a podcast series developed by The Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care (ITTIC). The series aims to present a variety of personal audio narratives that explore how trauma-informed care (TIC) intersects with individual experiences of healing and connection following traumatic events. The operationalization of TIC principles in the interviewing process is illustrated throughout, and a qualitative analysis is presented, exploring how podcast guests experienced these principles in practice. Justification for the creation of a podcast series illuminating TIC is outlined, and implications for social work educators on the use of podcasting is discussed. Podcasting is ultimately highlighted as a useful product and tool to harness technology for social good and provide guidance toward manifesting TIC.
Background
Before the COVID‐19 pandemic, very little was known about the impact of social isolation on individuals’ alcohol use and misuse. This study examines how socially isolated individuals with a history of heavy drinking used alcohol during the pandemic.
Methods
Data for this study came from an add‐on to the Managing Heavy Drinking (MHD) longitudinal study of drivers convicted of DWI that was conducted in Erie County, New York. Pre‐COVID information (October 2019–March 2020) was augmented with a COVID‐19 questionnaire collected between July and August 2020. A total of 92 participants completed the COVID‐19 survey.
Results
The sample of problem drinkers showed a significant increase after the pandemic outbreak in the average number of drinking days from 1.99 to 2.49 per week (p = 0.047), but a significant decrease in the average number of drinks per drinking day, from 3.74 to 2.74 (p = 0.003). The proportion of individuals who drank more frequently was greater among those who, before the outbreak had an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score <8 (26% increase) compared with those with an AUDIT score of >8 (13%). Alcohol treatment was also associated with the frequency of drinking, with individuals who were not in alcohol treatment showing a 16% increase in frequency compared with a 10% increase among those in treatment. Further, individuals who, after the outbreak worried about their health (30%) or finances (37%) reported greater increases in the frequency of drinking than those who did not worry about their health (17%) or finances (10%).
Conclusions
Overall, the individuals in our sample showed small changes in the frequency andheaviness of drinking after the outbreak of COVID‐19, effects that opposite in direction from one another and thus resulted in no overall change in drinks consumed. Nonetheless, we identified factors that influenced the effects of the pandemic on drinking behavior among individuals convicted of DWI, which emphasizes the need to individualize these individuals’ treatment, particularly in the context of dramatic environmental change.
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