Perspectives of hospital emergency department staff on trauma‐informed care for injured children: An Australian and New Zealand analysis

Abstract

There is a need and desire for training and education of Australian and New Zealand ED staff in trauma-informed care. This study demonstrates that experience alone is not sufficient for the development of knowledge of paediatric traumatic stress reactions and trauma-informed care practices. Existing education materials could be adapted for use in the ED and to accommodate the training preferences of Australian and New Zealand ED staff.

Knowledge and training in paediatric medical traumatic stress and trauma-informed care among emergency medical professionals in low- and middle-income countries

“…Consistent with observations from past research, greater knowledge was associated with higher country income (Alisic et al, 2016; Chandran et al, 2010; Fodor et al, 2014; Schnyder et al, 2016). LMIC emergency staff had somewhat greater gaps in knowledge than their high-income country counterparts and in particular were less likely to identify that toddlers can be at risk of developing paediatric medical traumatic stress and recognize behaviours that indicate risk (Alisic et al, 2016; Hoysted et al, 2017). Conversely, LMIC emergency staff demonstrated greater awareness of the impact of pain on the risk of developing paediatric medical traumatic stress (Alisic et al, 2016; Hoysted et al, 2017).…”

“…LMIC emergency staff had somewhat greater gaps in knowledge than their high-income country counterparts and in particular were less likely to identify that toddlers can be at risk of developing paediatric medical traumatic stress and recognize behaviours that indicate risk (Alisic et al, 2016; Hoysted et al, 2017). Conversely, LMIC emergency staff demonstrated greater awareness of the impact of pain on the risk of developing paediatric medical traumatic stress (Alisic et al, 2016; Hoysted et al, 2017). In the current analysis, LMIC emergency staff demonstrated a moderate level of knowledge of some risk factors for the development of paediatric medical traumatic stress.…”

“…As such, the development of training and interventions for staff in this region should include consultation with key stakeholders to ensure they are culturally appropriate prior to their implementation. A recent study has demonstrated promising results with a brief, low-cost training programme for ED staff, which could be adapted for use in LMICs (Hoysted, Jobson, & Alisic, In press). …”

“…Examining the effectiveness of trauma-informed care in this setting requires emergency staff to integrate this approach into their practice. However, research has consistently demonstrated that emergency staff are lacking knowledge of psychological difficulties, such as paediatric medical traumatic stress and skills in promoting psychological recovery utilizing a trauma informed care approach (Banh, Saxe, Mangione, & Horton, 2008; Hoysted et al, 2017; Kassam-Adams et al, 2015; Ziegler, Greenwald, DeGuzman, & Simon, 2005). Further, research has found a greater need for training in LMICs (Alisic et al, 2016) potentially explained by the lack of available resources, including professional training and education, in many LMICs (Chandran et al, 2010; Hsia, Thind, Zakariah, Hicks, & Mock, 2015; Obermeyer et al, 2015).…”

A web-based educational intervention to implement trauma-informed care in a paediatric healthcare setting: protocol for a feasibility study using pre-post mixed methods design

“…Whilst most healthcare staff recognise the need for trauma-informed care, few receive training that facilitates consistency in practice and implementation [18,19]. An international survey (N = 2648) identified substantial knowledge gaps among hospital-based health professionals regarding child traumatic stress and trauma-informed care [20].…”