Trauma-Informed Design of Supported Housing: A Scoping Review through the Lens of Neuroscience

Abstract

There is growing recognition of the importance of the design of the built environment in supporting mental health. In this context, trauma-informed design has emerged as a new field of practice targeting the design of the built environment to support wellbeing and ameliorate the physical, psychological and emotional impacts of trauma and related pathologies such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). With high levels of prevalence of PTSD among people escaping homelessness and domestic violence, a priority area is the identification and application of evidence-based design solutions for trauma-informed supported housing. This study sought to examine the scope of existing evidence on the relationship between trauma, housing and design and the correlation of this evidence with trauma-informed design principles, and to identify gaps and opportunities for future research. In response to the commonly articulated limitations of the evidence-base in built environment design research, we combined a scoping review of literature on trauma, housing and design with insights from neuroscience to focus and extend understanding of the opportunities of trauma-informed design. We found that while limited in scope, there is strong alignment between existing evidence and the principles of trauma-informed design. We also identify three areas of future research related to the key domains of safety and security; control; and enriched environments.

Are custodial-based mothers and children's units evaluated, effective and aligned with a human rights-based approach? – a systematic review of the evidence

“… 19 , 69 , 70 M&Cs have an opportunity to provide a supportive space for women who have suffered trauma to heal and recover. A trauma informed care 71 approach may address challenges in CC such as inadequate resourcing and restrictive operational procedures. 14 , 26 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 39 , 47 These constraints may compromise timely access to healthcare for mothers and or implementation of policies and regulatory processes may impede mothers to act in accordance with advice from health professionals about their children.…”

“…59 This discord between the best interest of the child and the limitation of a custodial setting presents unique challenges to mothering not seen in other settings. It provides an opportunity for CC to innovate in this area investigating the utility of co-design and trauma informed design 18 , 71 , 72 to ensure the best interests of the child are met.…”

Trauma-Informed Care in Digital Health Technologies: Protocol for a Scoping Review

“…Trauma-informed care in digital health is an emerging area of research that sought to explore various trauma-informed approaches in developing and deploying digital health interventions that limit the potential for further harm to end-user patients. There are several systematic and scoping reviews on trauma-informed care in various aspects of health care as well as in the built environment [ 37 , 45 ]. Despite an increasing application of trauma-informed care principles in digital health research, no reviews summarizing the definitions or characterization of trauma-informed care approaches in digital health were found.…”

“…Trauma-informed care recognizes the effects of trauma on users of digital health technologies and provides theoretical approaches and practical guidance for how such technologies can be designed to be emotionally safe and empowering for all users [34]. Indeed, several digital health interventions have adopted trauma-informed approaches in designing and developing digital health interventions or produced trauma-informed recommendations that can be used to adapt old interventions or develop new digital health services [35][36][37][38]. Other researchers have developed trauma-informed web heuristics for designing human-centered information systems, including digital health [39].…”

What, How and Why of a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) Within Youth Refuge

“…then make improvements as necessary. Colours are muted and soothing, and trauma-informed design principles are adhered to as much as possible (Owen & Crane, 2022).…”