Healing Horizons: Weekly News & Research - June 27, 2024
Welcome to our weekly news show, Healing Horizons, hosted by experts Bri Twombly and Alison Cebulla. Dive into the most recent updates on trauma-informed care practices, positive and adverse childhood experiences, and the critical concept of psychological safety. Each episode is designed to keep you informed on the latest research, trends, and best practices in these essential areas. Whether you're a healthcare professional, educator, or simply passionate about mental health, our show provides valuable insights and practical advice. Stay tuned for in-depth discussions and expert interviews that will enhance your understanding and application of trauma-informed care and psychological safety.
Here are the news stories and research we featured:
the Kutz Senior Living Campus in Wilmington, DE, opened the state’s first elder abuse sanctuary on June 15,
The Delaware shelter is partnering with Adult Protective Services and other elder abuse agencies in the sate to provide services to older adults who are victims of physical, emotional, financial and/or sexual abuse, as well as those who have been neglected by their caregivers.
“Trauma-informed care of the elderly is not the sole mission of the sanctuary,” Alderson said. “We will also be providing community outreach and education on trauma-informed care, the signs and symptoms of elder abuse, how to prevent elder abuse, and what to do if you suspect or know that an elderly person is a victim of elder abuse.”
is working with several agencies, law enforcement entities, hospitals and home care agencies to form a task force that meets quarterly to review the program and its ongoing work.
In addition to safe housing, the shelters use a trauma-informed approach to provide holistic case management and counseling, as well as medical, legal and social services, with a goal of enabling older adults to find safety and autonomy.
US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence ‘a Public Health Crisis’ - KFF Health News
The nation’s top doctor called on policymakers to consider gun safety measures such as bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and universal background checks for all firearm purchases.
His advisory also urges a “significant increase” in funding for research on gun injuries and deaths, as well as greater access to mental health care and trauma-informed resources for people who have experienced firearm violence.
Murthy, a physician, told KFF Health News he hoped to convey the broader toll of gun violence on the nation and the need for an urgent public health response. He cited soaring gun deaths among children and teens and noted that “the mental health toll of firearm violence is far more profound and pervasive than many of us recognize.”
Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens, with higher death rates among Black and Hispanic youths.
Firearms are the leading cause of death among people 18 and younger in the US, accounting for nearly 19% of all childhood deaths.
turn bystanders into immediate responders by teaching them to pack a wound and use a tourniquet.
keeps the focus on safety, not violence, using developmentally appropriate language and examples
Police department creates 'soft interview room' to accommodate sexual assault survivors (mycbs4.com)
A police department in Missouri debuted the first "soft interview room" in the state to accommodate sexual assault survivors and make them feel more comfortable during the interview process.
Police said soft rooms act as a "critical component of Trauma-Informed Care, allowing survivors to feel physically and emotionally safe."
Texas-based nonprofit organization Project Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission installed the soft care room.
White room with a table to a carpeted room with artwork and chairs
Researchers from the La Trobe Law School and the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport have received an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant for their project on the use of trauma-informed practices in publicly funded legal services
Partnering with Legal Aid Commissions in New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory, the research team will assess the impact of training, supervision and coaching on legal service delivery.
“This strategic research alliance promises significant community benefits by developing an evidence-base for trauma-informed practices in the Australian legal system.”
Officers set up boxing club for vulnerable teenage girls | Nottinghamshire Police
A team of three officers are helping to change the lives of vulnerable young girls in Nottinghamshire through boxing.
The club is open to girls aged between 12 and 18 that are currently in care or that are often reported missing to the police.
The community initiative was set up after the police team noticed that a lot of the boxing clubs in the county were mostly made up of boys and didn’t cater to this specific group.
The initiative is designed to boost the self-esteem of the young people and help them with their mental health and managing their emotions.
Mountain Home Montana getting closer to opening new facility (kpax.com)
Working to start a new center in Missoula to house 20 families
The organization started 25 years ago to help families in need two generations at a time.
Mountain Home is one of only three organizations in Montana providing a long-term residential housing program and a full suite of wraparound services for young mothers and their children facing homelessness.
They offer physical and mental health care, education, trauma-informed childcare, and more.
Mountain Home Montana hopes to give mothers experiencing hardships the chance to start again with the new building.
a mom who has been in Mountain Home Montana's program — said that she has gotten the ability to help herself by building relationships which in turn helps her child.
Conducting and disseminating research should center the six principles of TIC. For example, Empowerment, voice and choice: Involving the people on which the research is based and who it impacts is crucial. It’s important that the voice of participants and those who are affected by research is valued, and they have a role in shaping decisions.
Kentucky grants $12m for opioid abatement, Northern Kentucky benefits
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Thursday that 51 organizations across Kentucky were awarded over $12 million in grant funding from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission.
This British Columbia hospital was designed to accommodate ritual fires. Here's why - Fast Company
Cowichan District Hospital. Opening in 2026, it aims to establish a new model for culturally inclusive healthcare design. The hospital will be on Vancouver Island, where First Nations peoples make up 12% of the population.
Over two years, ZGF and Parkin Architects met with representatives from the Cowichan Tribes to learn more about what Indigenous peoples wanted from the hospital experience. The resulting project took these recommendations into account, including hiring more Indigenous staff, offering trauma-informed care, and creating more inclusive spaces.
Back to Bedside Grant Awarded to UConn Health Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellow - UConn Today
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has awarded Dr. Kristen Lee Moriarty, maternal fetal medicine fellow at UConn Health, with its Back to the Bedside Initiative grant. Moriarty was awarded the funding for her project entitled “Bringing Residents, Fellows and Nurses Back to the Bedside to Support a Mother’s Road to Recovery: Interdisciplinary Trauma-Informed Care Curriculum for Perinatal Care.”
one third of women experience some form of trauma during their pregnancy and rates are increasing despite literature elucidating its detrimental impact on patient outcomes. Pregnant women with a history of trauma and adverse childhood experiences can have higher levels of pregnancy related trauma which can exacerbate anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms.
The goal of the project is to improve recognition and management of pregnancy-related trauma while embodying a culture of mindfulness amongst OB/GYN residents, fellows, and nurse trainees by developing a screening tool for our patients and then conducting a one-day trauma-informed curriculum for residents, fellows, and nurse trainees that will improve bedside recognition of pregnancy related trauma. The training program will incorporate the principles of trauma-informed care in perinatal care. Participants will engage in educational sessions, simulation and mindfulness-based activities all centered around improving recognition and management of pregnancy related trauma.
AIDS and Behavior, June 2024
the aims of the present study were to examine the associations between childhood adversity (ACEs and Childhood economic hardship), retrospectively captured lifetime drinking patterns and current health among adult in care people living with HIV.
Adults were recruited from an HIV outpatient clinic and a local federally qualified health center, 365 participants
Measured for ACEs and childhood economic hardship
Findings revealed that ACES and Childhood economic hardship have a significant impact on both lifetime drinking patterns and current health, particularly mental health
intervening on alcohol mis/use in the U.S. must consider that alcohol is likely adopted as a maladaptive coping technique in response to early life economic hardship and social-emotional stressors. This chronic stress over the life course can undermine the development of long-term healthy stress responses
BMC Women’s Health, June 2024
In the United States (U.S.), racially minoritized people have higher rates of cervical cancer morbidity and mortality compared to white individuals as a result of racialized structural, social, economic, and health care inequities. However, cervical cancer screening guidelines are based on studies of predominately white individuals and do not substantially discuss or address racialized cervical cancer inequities and their social determinants, including racism.
We conducted in-depth interviews with health care providers (N = 30) and key informants with expertise in health equity (N = 18).
Most health care providers adopted a universal, one-size-fits-all approach to cervical cancer screening with the stated goal of ensuring racial equality.
Current Nutrition Reports, June 2024
A growing body of research demonstrates that there is a significant relationship between child maltreatment and adult obesity.
In this narrative review, we summarize the existing work describing the different child maltreatment types (physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, and child neglect) and their relation to adult obesity, what is known about a potential dose response relationship, potential mediators and pathophysiology, comorbidities, and preliminary work on gender and racial/ ethnic disparities.
Found limited data on interventions that have been studied and that the impact of childhood adversity on obesity is poorly understood
Gathering data (screening) needs more research and should be done in a trauma-sensitive manner
JAMA Pediatrics, June 2024
How did Texas’ ban on early abortions in 2021 impact infant mortality in 2022?
This cohort study of 94 720 recorded infant deaths in Texas and 28 comparison states found that the Texas abortion ban was associated with unexpected increases in infant and neonatal mortality in 2022.
This study found that Texas’ 2021 ban on abortion in early pregnancy was associated with unexpected increases in infant and neonatal deaths in Texas between 2021 and 2022. Congenital anomalies, which are the leading cause of infant death, also increased in Texas but not the rest of the US.
the results suggest that restrictive abortion policies may have important unintended consequences in terms of trauma to families and medical cost as a result of increases in infant mortality.
The study did not examine the effects of infant deaths on the health of mothers who were legally required to deliver dead babies to term, nor did it look at the mental health effects of carrying infants and delivering them, only to see them die. The study also raises but does not tackle questions about the financial cost to families of carrying and delivering terminally ill newborns.
Child Abuse & Neglect, July 2024
Representative Finnish population study, individuals aged 30 to 64 years were interviewed in 2000, and their deaths were registered until 2020. At baseline, the participants (n = 4981, 2624 females) completed a questionnaire that included 11 questions on ACEs and questions on tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse, self-reported health and sufficiency of income.
Of the ACEs, financial difficulties, parental unemployment and individual's own chronic illness were associated with mortality.
High number (4+) of ACEs was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in females (HR 2.11, p < 0.001), not in males, suggesting that factors like smoking tobacco had a higher impact on male mortality than only experiencing ACEs.
Females might be more vulnerable to the effects of multiple ACEs
Poor health behaviour, self-reported health and low income were the major predictors of mortality in both genders. When the effects of these factors were controlled, childhood family conflicts associated with mortality in both genders.
These findings highlight the importance of a stable and emotionally supportive family environment in the development of children and adolescents, influencing their education, relationship formation and mortality risk
2024 Work in America Survey: Psychological Safety in the Changing Workplace (apa.org)
American Psychological Society
The Harris Poll conducted the survey online in the United States on behalf of APA between March 25 and April 3, 2024, among more than 2,000 employed adults.
Workers who experience a high sense of psychological safety are much less likely than the average worker to characterize their workplace as somewhat or very “toxic.” While 15% of workers say their workplace is toxic, the overwhelming majority (89%) of this group also reported experiencing lower psychological safety at work.
Around three in 10 U.S. workers reported that people in their organization who are not close to their age don’t see the value in their ideas (32%) and feel self-conscious about their age at work (29%). A quarter (25%) said they are worried about their job security because of their age.
American workers want control over where they do their work—whether it is fully in person, fully remote or a hybrid of the two—and they’re more satisfied when they have it. They may also want to work fewer days a week, fully endorsing a move to the four-day workweek.
Despite many workers reporting satisfaction with their work, individuals with a mental or physical disability were more likely to report experiencing toxic work environments and have more concerns about wages and inflation.
Workers who experience psychological safety in their workplaces tend to report much more positive experiences, including overall job satisfaction, relationships with colleagues, and fewer negative workplace outcomes, such as emotional exhaustion and workplace burnout.
