Advancing trauma‐informed care in intellectual and developmental disability services: A pilot study of a digital training with direct service providers

Abstract

Background: As trauma-informed care advances in the service delivery system for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, additional resources are needed to foster staff development. This article describes the development and pilot evaluation of a digital training on trauma-informed care among direct service providers (DSPs) in the disability service industry.Method: Following an AB design, a mixed methods approach was used to analyse the responses of 24 DSPs to an online survey at baseline and at follow-up. Results:The training was associated with increased staff knowledge in some domains and greater alignment with trauma-informed care. Staff expressed a strong likelihood of using trauma-informed care in practice and identified organisational assets and barriers to implementation. Conclusions: Digital trainings can facilitate staff development and the advancement of trauma-informed care. Although additional efforts are warranted, this study fills a gap in the literature regarding staff training and trauma-informed care.

Treating traumatized children with intellectual disabilities: Tailoring Trauma‐Focused Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for a vulnerable population

“…The general approach described in this paper may additionally (Keesler et al, 2023;Rajaraman et al, 2022;Rich et al, 2021). A central assessment task is to identify those with the requisite cognitive abilities to engage in CBT.…”

“…Traumatic symptoms in children with severe and profound levels of intellectual disabilities may be best addressed through environmentally‐based interventions. Recently, for example, the literature has described recommendations for trauma‐informed care to include use of positive behaviour supports, training and familiarization of direct‐care staff, caution about the incidence of abuse inflicted by caregivers, and acknowledgement of vicarious trauma experienced by caregivers (Keesler et al, 2023; Rajaraman et al, 2022; Rich et al, 2021). A central assessment task is to identify those with the requisite cognitive abilities to engage in CBT.…”

The Curriculum in IDD Healthcare (CIDDH) eLearn Course: Evidence of Continued Effectiveness Using the Streamlined Evaluation and Analysis Method (SEAM)

“…Benefits of such training programs include increased clinician knowledge about the unique health challenges faced by patients with IDD, improved understanding of effective treatment techniques, and enhanced clinician comfort when delivering such care [6]. An expanded awareness of health disparities commonly observed among patients with IDD and increased knowledge of interventions proven to ameliorate these disparities have also been evident [7][8][9].…”