Trauma-Informed Pediatric Care means incorporating an understanding of traumatic
stress in each clinical encounter with ill or injured children and their families.
By integrating an understanding of traumatic stress into their routine interactions with children and families, health care providers can make a real difference:
- reducing the impact of difficult or frightening medical events, and
- helping children and families cope with emotional reactions to illness and injury.
Trauma can be both a medical and psychological event in the eyes of children and families experiencing serious illnesses, injuries, or painful procedures.
Trauma-informed pediatric care means incorporating an awareness of the impact of traumatic stress on children and families as a part of treating the medical aspects of the trauma.
Health care teams that provide trauma-informed care systematically integrate the following core elements into their care of ill or injured children:
1. Minimize traumatic aspects of medical care
- Pay attention to the child’s and family’s experience of medical care, and do what you can to reduce frightening or painful aspects of necessary care and procedures.
2. Provide all pediatric patients with basic support and information
- Ask children (and parents) about their fears and worries, optimize pain management, and work with parents to help them provide effective support for their child. The D-E-F protocol offers specific guidance and suggestions.
3. Screen to identify those who may need more help
- Provide anticipatory guidance about stress reactions and ways of coping. Assess for more severe distress or risk factors, and make appropriate referrals for additional services if warranted.
4. Maximize continuity of care
- Help ensure that all those caring for a child are aware of any traumatic stress reactions as well as effective coping resources.
5. Remain aware of providers’ own stress
- Pay attention to the challenges of caring for ill and injured children, and promote good self-care.
Providers treating children and families already have many of the basic skills required to provide Trauma-Informed Pediatric Care. The information and tools on this site can help you hone and enhance your skills.
The D-E-F protocol provides a simple way to remember key elements of trauma-informed care:
After attending to the basics of children’s physical health (the A-B-C’s), pay attention to the next steps - "D-E-F".
- Reduce DISTRESS
- Promote EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
- Remember the FAMILY
