Impact of Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatrics
Abstract
Pediatric trauma is well known. Additionally, it manifests itself in the day to day lives of quite a few children through the death of a loved one, abuse, neglect, and community violence. Despite the exposure to these traumatic events, not all children sail through them comfortably with most of the developing long term derailments as a result of the trauma. Therefore, proper measures need to be put in place that would assist medics in treating children that have sustainably shown signs of the derailment, which can be traced back to previous traumatic experiences by the Child. In this paper, we seek to point out the importance of trauma-informed care in pediatrics and how it impacts child growth and development.
Impact of Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatrics
Traumatic events result in emotional, physical, and physiological derailments in children. Additionally, the most common emotional traumatic experiences in Childhood are as a result of ill health and injury. The application of a trauma-informed approach in the child treatment who have been exposed to traumatic events has proved to be an asset to the medical care doctors in the pediatric wing of Hospitals. Trauma-informed care paves the way for better interactions between the patient and the medical care team.
Children who have been exposed to multiple trauma incidents pose a high risk for drug addiction, depression, and attempted suicides in adolescents. For the purpose of this research, trauma-informed care is critically assessed and how it positively and negatively affects the growth and development of the Child. Additionally, Childhood being a uniquely vulnerable moment in the Child’s growth, proper health care measures need to be put in place that would see the pediatric patients being offered quality services. However, the success of the medication relies on the interactions between the involved parties that would see the Child opening up and cooperating with the medical staff. Self- regulation is an ability that is commonly disrupted in most pediatric patients exposed to constant traumatic events that amplify stress sensitivity. Additionally, once exposed to a single trauma, it is easy for the patient to be exposed to multiple injuries as a result of hampered self -esteem and self-confidence.
However, the success of trauma-informed care revolves around the organization having competent staff that will be able to deliver quality medical services to the patients. The key factors revolve around, data-driven medical support systems, adequate staff support, proper treatment feedback mechanisms between the patient and the family as well as utilization of reliable policies in relation to trauma-informed care.
As a result of globalization and the advancement of Technology, health organizations are able to incorporate information technology in their business operations resulting in better service delivery of quality health care services and increased organizational profits. Trauma-informed care is an approach to the identification and collection of patient data based on the visits at the health premises that are used by the medical staff in understanding their pediatric patients better. Additionally, trauma-informed care is used to support the decisions of the medical staff in areas pertaining to mental health, trauma incidents, and child protection services. Trauma-informed care is responsible for creating an emotional balance between the patient, doctor, and family, which goes a long way in positively contributing to the growth and development of the Child.
Trauma-informed care poses quite a number of advantages to the well being of the patients as well as the medical staff. For instance, with the harnessed team, medical data organizations are able to plan better for the available resources at the health premise. Equally, it facilitates collaboration between the medics and the family members of the patient, which goes a long way in building a positive rapport between the pediatric patient and the medical officer.
Nevertheless, trauma-informed pediatric care is associated with a universal cultural approach that provides a sense of security between the patient of any gender and the medical officer. Despite, trauma-informed care having quite a number of positive impacts on the patient. In the process resulting in the cultivation of a safe environment for both the patient and the medical officer in the community. It equally contains quite a number of negative impacts, as explained in detail below, and both the positive and negative advantages affect child growth and development in our modern society today.
Positive Impacts of Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatrics
Additionally, trauma-informed care impacts positively on medical practitioners attending to the needs of the traumatic children. With the daily challenges in working with pediatric patients, the doctors and nurses can equally experience trauma symptoms in relation to their duty of administering treatment to pediatric patients. Luckily, the application of a trauma-informed approach to medical care has proved to be effective in addressing these adverse outcomes. Trauma-informed care minimizes the risk of doctors and nurses being traumatic or triggering of traumatic reactions (Marsac, 2016). Therefore, trauma-informed doctors and nurses will be able to not only know their patients better but as well as define ways in which the patient can steadily recover from the trauma by consistently providing emotional support to the pediatric patient in conjunction with the patient’s family.
I fully support the fact that trauma-informed care results in improved growth and development of the Child. When the doctors are in the proper mental state and the desired environment, there is nothing that can stop them from delivering their patients from the emotional challenge that they might be facing. Nevertheless, medical practitioners attending to pediatric patients are able to come up with better solutions based on the utilization of the previously collected trauma information.
Equally, trauma-informed practices result in quality Health care Services as a result of the incorporation of health information technology. Patient safety has been an area that has contributed to the inclusion of Technology. Patient safety is a subset of healthcare resulting in the incorporation of information technology to result in massive changes in the health care facility ( Alotaibi, 2017). Additionally, the use of Technology was a significant stride towards transforming the healthcare environment. The key addressable areas in the external environment are encompassing the medical facility result in increased patient safety at the health care premise while undertaking medical attention.
Additionally, patient safety equally, entails an assessment of the Pediatric patient health as a result of trauma. In which the Physician is able to identify better ways of ensuring that the Child’s growth is not stunted as a result of better treatment. As a pediatric medic nurse attending to a traumatized patient, your communication and the cooperation with the patients needs to be exemplary. Despite the challenges, physicians need to find better ways
Better medical service delivery by the doctors and the nurses have proved to be very vital in the development and growth of the pediatric patients. Patient satisfaction is an area that has been used over the years to measure the quality of healthcare (Bhanu, 2010). However, the success of assessing patient information relies solely on platforms that are used to determine and ensure that the health care offered is of quality Service.
Pediatric patients require constant attention for effective trauma recovery procedures to be implemented. The key ingredient to satisfy the patient need to be practical cooperation and communication. Therefore, it is mandatory for the facilities to ensure that nurses handling the young are well trained. Nevertheless, extra attention needs to be paid to how physicians are well equipped to emotionally handle patients suffering from emotional and physical informed traumatic incidents. For instance, they not only need to be able to administer medication to pediatric patients but as well to have a passion for handling child health care, which is paramount for the growth of and development of the Child.
Therefore, physicians are advised to know their patients better, which results in improved medical care. Children love feeling they are in control, and interacting with them has proved to be fruitful. Therefore, getting to know them has resulted in improved health care. However, for a pediatric patient, the Physician needs to naturally be willing to go an extra mile of building rapport with the patient by getting to build trust with the patient but asking them non-medical questions, reading the favorite patient books with the patient and most importantly showing the pediatric patient a lot of love and care.
Equally, despite the exhaustive task of dealing with pediatric trauma patients, the Physician needs to be keen when handling pediatric patients. In this case, a physician who is good at Distraction is the best medic for the job. Equally, Distraction is vital in treating pediatric patients by reducing the patient’s anxiety levels that allow the patients to be relaxed. Multiculturalism requires doctors to be able to be diverse in finding solutions to distracting the different types of trauma-affected patients. Additionally, practical cooperation is an area that not only helps the Child grow by learning how to train to be calm.
Informed Trauma Care results in better relations between the patient, family of the patient, and the Medic Facility. Communication within the doctors and the nurses. Trauma results in an emotional imbalance in the family, affecting all the members of that household. For instance, communication would be hampered in relation to the case. Children and their family members tend to experience traumatic stress reactions as a result of the medical service delivery to the pediatric patient.
Play is crucial in the growth and development of the Child. Therefore, the informed trauma treatment would ensure that the patient environment is conducive and also engaging for the pediatric patient ( Stenman, 2019). The new play is part of Childhood that enhances social interaction that enhances the Child’s growth by empowering them to look forward to a better and engaging life ahead. Equally, trauma-informed care and the incorporation of play has proved to be a vital tool that helps reduce the mental anxiety experienced by the child patient, the family members, and the medical staff administering the medication.
Trustworthiness is essential in the implementation of the trauma-informed approach that solely relies on steady leadership that allows for the development of modern strategies that would help medics to find solutions to the re-traumatization problem. Pediatric patients require extra attention, with the most crucial objective is gaining the patients’ trust that allows them to open up about why they feel they are not worthy of being whoever they seek out to be (Bowen, 2016). Additionally, gaining the trust of parents and the family members is a critical advantage to the medic in charge of the patient. Pediatric incidences vary with most occurrences revolving around family feuds. Exposure to domestic violence results in child growth and development being hampered. Traumatic events are described by the national child traumatic stress network as distressing situations that are outside the scope of average human experiences resulting in intense emotional reactions that upset the healthy growth and development of the individual. It is evident that exposure to physical or psychological violence in early Childhood negatively affects the growth of adolescents. Additionally, it not only hampers the adolescent’s self-esteem but as well as influencing the adolescent’s decision making. The damaging effects of childhood trauma entail poor school performance, lack of self-motivation, and the inability to build healthy relationships.
Negative Impacts of Trauma-Informed Care in Pediatrics
Ethical dilemmas are violated during the implementation of informed trauma care when handling pediatric patients. Most of the traumatic incidents are characterized by a violation of the patient’s human anatomy integrity (Chafouleas, 2016). Therefore, resulting in varying views on how trauma will be minimized by revisiting the incidents that occurred in emotional or physical injury to the pediatric patient. Additionally, traumatized children’s growth is negatively impacted, depending on the characteristic of the trauma they were exposed to. Constant visits to the health care facility have equally proved to be retriggering activities that equally affect the growth of the pediatric patient. Children who have been exposed to trauma clearly manifest impulsive and disruptive characters that modify their mental health. Additionally, ethics come into question when traumatized children are alienated by their peers as a result of the special treatment that they receive at the school dispensary in relation to their trauma-informed care. This not only escalates the stress levels but as well as a catalyst for weak growth and development in the pediatric patient health. Cognitive and emotional imbalances negatively affect the Child’s growth with adverse negative effects such as suicide attempts being prevalent in adolescents who have experienced recurring trauma occurrences.
Posttraumatic stress is inevitable for pediatric patients who have undergone informed trauma care. Equally, medical interactions are naturally traumatic and frightening for children. Pediatric traumatic stress can be caused by health deterioration of the Child as well as a result of physical injury (Ford, 2008). Despite caring for injured children being stressed, the paramedics equally have minimal training in relation to offering exemplary pediatric care for the patient. Similarly, paramedics and ambulance services experience high levels of stress when they receive emergency calls with regard to a child suffering from childhood trauma. For instance, acute stress in children emerges as a result of being injured in a traffic accident. Despite the development of persistent stress symptoms in a majority of pediatric patients exposed to traffic crashes. It is evident that the persistence of acute stress negatively impacts on the development and growth of the Child. However, there are no facts in relation to how prehospital providers can prevent the development of traumatic stress for pediatric patients. Additionally, parents need to undergo civic education that educates them on how they should cope with their children in an environment that would positively impact on the Child’s growth and is free from traumatic experiences. Traumatic stress equally affects the Child’s memory resulting in poor critical thinking and emotional balance.
Screening is one of the negative implications of the utilization of trauma-informed care in pediatric treatment. Children who have been exposed to one form of trauma tend to be easy victims of being affected by multiple injuries. Screening should only be used minimally for the identification of trauma as it not only affects the Child’s mental health but as well as increases the chances of stress development in pediatric patients (Murphy, 2016). Additionally, screening requires the medical health staff to have adequate information and resources for the success of the identification process. Nevertheless, a failure in screening results development of adverse effects on the Child. Equally, screening is concerned with providing solutions to the pediatric patient that would prevent re-graduation and facilitate healthy growth and development.
Detoriorientaion of child mental health is a result of insistent trauma occurrences resulting in slow growth and development in children. The use of trauma-informed care systems has proved to contribute to the deterioration in some of the patients whose patient history was not recorded. Additionally, the success of trauma-informed care revolves around how the previous pediatric patient interactions were implemented. In this case, unresolved mental issues might arise due to the re-creation of the cause of the trauma in the first place in a bid by the medic to research on what other triggers might have resulted in the patient’s brain ability to be affected by the recurring traumatic events (Wang, 2000). Persons who have indicated signs of having experienced multiple traumatic incidents have equally been associated with the development of posttraumatic stress.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a traditional approach to handling trauma in such situations that have proved to positively impact the patients resulting in the formulation of better strategies of liberating pediatric patients from the dangerous pit of mental health issues. Cognitive restructuring occurs as a result of recurring trauma occurrences, which negatively impacts the Child’s growth and development. Exploration of thinking patterns provides a layout in which medical practitioners can use to determine the interrelationships between patient character and decision making.
Additionally, such explorations have proved to be worthwhile in understanding the extent of the negative impacts of the patient’s development as a result of the cognitive restricting as a result of exposure to emotional and physical pain ( Shern, 2016). On the other hand, cognitive restructuring assists in the identification of behaviors associated with trauma while examining the variables that might be adjusted to reduce the impact of the injury. As a traditional method of mitigating complex trauma in children, cognitive restricting is focused on empowering the pediatric patient.
In conclusion, trauma-informed care has proved to contribute positively to the development and growth of trauma-affected pediatric patients. However, the time constraint is the key factor that hinders the implementation of informed pediatric health services. The critical aspect of trauma-informed care, which equally has diverse effects on the Child that may trigger the development of stress and retriggering of traumatic experiences. The success of trauma-informed care is similarly backed up by government policies and the country’s financial capability. Equally, trauma-informed care enhances collaboration between the Child’s family and the medical staff that goes a long way in not only attaining patient satisfaction but as well as increased and reliable medical service delivery.
Equally, with high levels of exposure to trauma, it is crucial that a trauma-informed approach is implemented in medical service delivery. However, adequate training and development of the working environment will positively impact the Child’s growth and development. Although trauma-informed care possesses more advantages than demerits, more research needs to be undertaken to ensure that the Child’s mental health is made a priority in relation to trauma-informed care for pediatric patients.
References
Marsac, M. L., Kassam-Adams, N., Hildenbrand, A. K., Nicholls, E., Winston, F. K., Leff, S. S., & Fein, J. (2016). Implementing a trauma-informed approach in pediatric health care networks. JAMA pediatrics, 170(1), 70-77.
Alotaibi, Y. K. & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal, 38(12), 1173.
Bhanu, P. (2010). Patient satisfaction. Journal Cutan Aesthet Surg. Sep-Dec, 3(3), 151-155.
Stenman, K., Christofferson, J., Alderfer, M. A., Pierce, J., Kelly, C., Schifano, E., … & Kazak, A. E. (2019). Integrating play in trauma-informed care: Multidisciplinary pediatric healthcare provider perspectives. Psychological services, 16(1), 7.
Bowen, E. A., & Murshid, N. S. (2016). Trauma-informed social policy: A conceptual framework for policy analysis and advocacy. American journal of public health, 106(2), 223-229.
Chafouleas, S. M., Johnson, A. H., Overstreet, S., & Santos, N. M. (2016). Toward a blueprint for trauma-informed service delivery in schools. School Mental Health, 8(1), 144-162.
Ko, S. J., Ford, J. D., Kassam-Adams, N., Berkowitz, S. J., Wilson, C., Wong, M., … & Layne, C. M. (2008). Creating trauma-informed systems: child welfare, education, first responders, health care, juvenile justice. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(4), 396.
Murphy, A., Steele, H., Steele, M., Allman, B., Kastner, T., & Dube, S. R. (2016). The clinical Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) questionnaire: Implications for trauma-informed behavioral healthcare. In Integrated early childhood, behavioral health in primary care (pp. 7-16). Springer, Cham.
Wang, M. Y., Griffith, P., Sterling, J., McComb, J. G., & Levy, M. L. (2000). A prospective population-based study of pediatric trauma patients with mild alterations in consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13–14). Neurosurgery, 46(5), 1093-1099.
Shern, D. L., Blanch, A. K., & Steverman, S. M. (2016). Toxic stress, behavioral health, and the next major era in public health. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 86(2), 109.