Faculty from the disciplines of nursing, public health, and social work developed an interprofessional course on trauma-informed practice. The course was designed in response to a growing movement to address adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), prevent and treat trauma, and build individual and community resiliency (ACEsConnection.com). These efforts are rooted in the seminal work of Felitti et al. (1998) who found that ACEs were common and correlated with negative health outcomes in adulthood, including heart disease, lung disease, cancer, alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression. Subsequent research demonstrates an even greater impact of ACEs when community-level issues such as community cohesion, residential instability, low income, unemployment, and lower levels of education were assessed (Metzler, Merrick, Klevens, Ports, & Ford, 2016; Wolff, Cuevas, Intravia, Baglivio, & Epps, 2018). The faculty team felt it was imperative to educate health professions students about this significant health concern and equip them with tools to recognize, prevent and heal trauma and build resilience.
Methods:
A number of structural and administrative tasks had to be accomplished to establish the course. L. Dee Fink’s conceptual framework (2013) was the foundation for course development. Many sources guided development including accrediting documents from nursing, public health and social work regarding interprofessional collaboration and practice, core competencies for interprofessional practice; CSWE’s (2018) specialized trauma-informed curricula guide; and research and literature related to adverse childhood experiences and the social determinants of health. In addition, rurality issues and ACEs-related data regarding the Appalachian region of the state (Hege, et al., 2018; Shaklee, Bigbee, & Wall, 2012) were prominent in course development.
Results:
We analyzed situational factors, such as the sensitive nature of the course content, and developed strategies to support students to be successful in the course. Co-teaching, grading and student evaluation were potential pedagogical challenges we addressed. Learning goals were written collaboratively and formative and summative assessments were aligned with the goals. Evaluation methods were designed and course content was aligned with the goals and evaluations.
Conclusion:
We developed a course to familiarize students in health professions with trauma, specifically ACEs and the relationship of ACEs to neurobiology, growth and development, social determinants of health, health risk behaviors, and poor health outcomes. Students learn evidence-based practices used at individual, community, and societal levels to prevent, identify, and treat trauma, and to build resiliency. Students have an opportunity to assess their own ACEs score and the protective factors and resiliency they possess. An emphasis is placed on the roles, perspectives, and regulations guiding nursing, public health, and social work. Students participate in interprofessional teamwork, including building relationships, demonstrating mutual respect, and fostering communication to improve outcomes. They participate as members of an interprofessional team to identify and improve social determinants and environmental conditions that contribute to trauma with diverse populations and communities.