Tools You Can Use: Medical Traumatic Stress Tip Sheet for Child Weflare Professsionals | Patient Centered Care and Trauma Informed Care for Pediatric Patients

Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress

Child welfare professionals understand impact of abuse and neglect on children in foster care, but the impact of medical trauma on these children may be less familiar. On average, children in foster care have greater healthcare needs than most kids yet they usually receive inconsistent health care before entering placement. As a result, they often enter placement with unidentified and unmet health problems. Even after placement many do not receive adequate and timely healthcare. These difficult life experiences increase the likelihood that a child or youth has experienced traumatic stress, and intensify the risk for medical traumatic stress.

To help child welfare professionals better understand medical trauma's impact, the Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress developed the handout, "Medical Traumatic Stress: Know the Facts". This handout provides information about medical trauma, what child welfare professionals need to know,and ways caseworkers can help children cope with medical trauma.

If you work in child welfare or with children in foster care, what impact has medical trauma had on these children?

Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress

Patient Education

Screening & Assessment

Intervention

Trauma-Informed Care

COVID-19

Resources