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Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress
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  • Trauma-informed pediatric care

    What is Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress?

    • The basics
    • Prevalence & course
    • Traumatic stress symptoms
    • Risk factors
    • Understanding the family's experience
    • Key research findings

    How to Provide Trauma-Informed Care

    • The basics
    • D-E-F framework
    • Levels of risk and trauma-informed care
    • Timeline for trauma-informed care
    • Referral to mental health care
    • Addressing health disparities
    • Developmental considerations
    • Cultural considerations

    Self Care & Secondary Trauma

    • The basics
    • Self care tips
    • Organizational support
  • Find information for..
    • The healthcare team
    • Physicians-PAs-NPs
    • Nurses
    • Pre-hospital providers
    • Medical interpreters
    • Mental health professionals
    • Child welfare professionals
    • Child Life Professionals
  • Professional Education
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    • Other education resources
  • Find Tools and Resources

    Patient Education

    Patient Education

    • For parents & caregivers
    • For children & teens

    Screening & Assessment

    Screening & Assessment

    • The basics
    • Find screening & assessment tools
    • Screening after pediatric injury
    • Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT)
    • Acute Stress Checklist (ASC-Kids)
    • Family Illness Beliefs Inventory (FIBI)

    Intervention

    Intervention

    • The basics
    • Surviving Cancer Competently (SCCIP)
    • Cellie Coping Kit

    Trauma-Informed Care

    Trauma-Informed Care

    • The basics
    • TIC Provider Survey
    • Observation Checklist - Pediatric Resuscitation

    COVID-19

    COVID-19

    • COVID-19
    • Resources for healthcare staff
    • COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Scales (CEFIS)
    • Helping my child cope

    Resources

    Resources

    • More resources
  • For Patients and Families
    • Coping with injury or illness
    • Sleep
    • Pain
    • Behavior
    • Worries & fears
    • Quiet or withdrawn
    • School
    • Siblings
    • Parents
    • Need more help?
    • Family voices

Find Screening & Assessment Tools

Find a tool to:

  • Evaluate traumatic stress symptoms 
  • Evaluate psychosocial support needs
  • Guide needs assessment and care planning
  • Evaluate pain in pediatric patients

Tools are marked to denote those appropriate for use in screening (S) and/or as part of a more in-depth assessment (A).

Evaluate traumatic stress symptoms

Acute Stress Checklist for Children (ASC-Kids)  (S) (A)

Purpose & Description:  Evaluate acute stress reactions in children or teens. Available as 29 item self-report checklist, and as 3- or 6-item brief screening version.

Language: English, Spanish

Who can administer:  Any member of the healthcare team; Child can complete as self-report.

Time to administer:  1-2 mins (brief screen versions); 5-10 mins (full version)

References: Kassam-Adams, 2006; Kassam-Adams et al., 2013; Kassam-Adams et al., 2016 

Get a copy of the measure.

 Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire (CTSQ)  (S)

Purpose & Description: 10 item screening tool. Helps identify recently injured children at higher risk for later PTSD.

Language: English

Who can administer: Any member of the healthcare team. Child can complete as self-report.

Time to administer: 2-3 mins

References: Kenardy et al., 2006. 

Get a copy of the measure.

Child-Trauma-Screening-Questionnaire-information.pdf (120.61 KB)

For more information on the CTSQ, contact:  Justin Kenardy, University of Queensland. 

Acute Stress Disorder Scale (ASDS)  (S)

Purpose & Description: Evaluate acute stress reactions in adults or older teens. 19 item self-report checklist.

Language: English

Who can administer: Any member of the healthcare team; Adult or teen can complete as self-report.

Time to administer:  5-10 mins

References: Bryant et al., 2000

Get a copy of the measure.

NOTE: CPTS has created an adapted version of the ASDS suitable for use with healthcare staff in the COVID19 pandemic.  

Get a copy of the adapted ASDS measure.

ASDS adapted for COVID.pdf (121.46 KB)

Child Stress Disorders Checklist (CSDC)  (A)

Purpose & Description: 35 item checklist completed by parent (or nurse). Assesses acute stress or PTSD symptoms in children or teens.

Language: English

Who can administer: Completed by parent or nurse about child. 

Time to administer:  10 mins

References: Saxe et al. (2003). Child Stress Disorders Checklist: A measure of ASD and PTSD in children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(8): 972-978.

Get a copy of the measure.

Child Stress Disorders Checklist (CSDC) Short Form (S)

Purpose & Description: 4 item subset of CSDC to be completed by parent (or physician / nurse). Assesses acute stress of PTSD symptoms in children or teens.

Language: English

Who can administer: Completed by parent or nurse about child. 

Time to administer: 1-2 mins

References: Bosquet Enlow et al,. 2010.

Get a copy of the measure. 

Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS) for DSM5  (A)

Purpose & Description: 27-item self-report checklist. Assesses PTSD symptoms (and impairment) in children or teens.

Language: English

Who can administer:  Child can complete as self-report, or can be administered as interview.

Time to administer:  5-10 mins

References: Foa et al., 2018.

Get information on the measure from:  Edna B. Foa, Center for the Study and Treatment of Anxiety, University of Pennsylvania.

PTSD Checklist for DSM5 (PCL-5)  (S) (A)

Purpose & Description: 20 item self-report checklist. Assesses PTSD symptoms in older teens and adults.

Language: English, Spanish

Who can administer: Any member of the healthcare team; Adult can complete as self-report.

Time to administer: 5-10 mins

References: Blevins et al., 2015.

Scale available from the National Center for PTSD.

 

Evaluate psychosocial support needs

Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT)  (S) (A)

Purpose & Description: Comprehensive questionnaire assessing psychosocial risk in families of children newly diagnosed with cancer. Helps identify children and families who would benefit from targeted psychosocial intervention.

Language: English, Spanish

Who can administer: Any member of the healthcare team.

Time to administer: 10-15 mins

References: Kazak et al. 2018

Get information on the measure from:  psychosocialassessmenttool@nemours.org

Hospital Emotional Support Form (A)

Purpose & Description:: Brief clinical assessment tool to aid parents in providing coping assistance to child

Language: English

Who can administer: Any member of the healthcare team.

Time to administer:  5-10 mins

References: N/A

Get a copy of the measure.

Guide needs assessment and care planning

D-E-F Nursing Assessment Form (A)

Purpose & Description: Not just for nurses!  Brief checklist completed by physician, nurse or social worker. Needs assessment and care planning with hospitalized children. Organized according to the D-E-F framework to assess Distress, Emotional support needs, and Family needs / strengths.

Language: English

Who can administer: Nurses, or any healthcare or psychosocial care provider

Time to administer: 10-15 mins

References: N/A

Get a copy of the measure.

Medical Trauma Assessment and Action Form for Child Welfare Professionals (A)

Purpose & Description: Brief questionnaire assessing psychosocial risk and medical traumatic stress in families of children in the child welfare system.

Language: English

Who can administer: Any child welfare professional.

Time to administer: 10 mins

References: N/A

Get a copy of the measure.

Evaluate pain in pediatric patients

Faces Pain Scale- Revised (S)

Purpose & Description: Well-validated self-report scale for children or teens. Assesses pain (disease-related, procedural, surgical/trauma, treatment-related).

Language: English, French, and 31 additional languages

Who can administer: Any healthcare provider.

Time to administer: 1-2 min

References: Hicks et al., 2001.

Get a copy of the measure.

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