Trauma-Informed Care: The basics
Health care professionals can provide trauma-informed care as part of everyday clinical treatment in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare settings.
Use the D-E-F Framework
The D-E-F framework provides a model for best practice:
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Address DISTRESS: Help manage pain, fears and worries, loss
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Facilitate EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: Provide anticipatory guidance about adaptive ways of coping
- Remember the FAMILY: Identify needs, strengths, and resources
Use these practical tools to help you team implement the D-E-F framework for trauma-informed care in your own clinical setting:
D-E-F Pocket Cards with quick screening and intervention recommendations.
The D-E-F Users Guide, D-E-F cards, D-E-F Nursing Assessment, and D-E-F posters are also available to order through the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress.
Implement screening and assessment
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Screen to determine which children and families might need more support, then assess further when screening indicates risk or distress
- Refer for mental health care when needed
Track trauma-informed care awareness and practice
- Use the Trauma-Informed Care Provider Survey (TIC Provider Survey) to gauge healthcare professionals' knowledge, opinions, confidence, and current practices.
- Use the Observational Checklist for Pediatric Resuscitation to assess family-centered and trauma-informed care during pediatric resuscitation.
