Trauma-Informed Preventative Care (TIPC)
In Australia, an estimated half to two-thirds of young people are exposed to at least one traumatic event by the time they turn 16 years old. In the past, trauma in healthcare has often been understood as physical trauma.
But we recognise the importance of psychological and emotional trauma as critical issues that demand proactive prevention efforts for children, young people, families, and staff.
Trauma-informed preventative care (TIPC) is a framework for the delivery of care that involves realising the high prevalence of psychological trauma, recognising and addressing its impact on patients, their families, and staff, and preventing re-traumatisation that occurs during care.
We have developed, tested and are currently evaluating trauma-informed initiatives focusing on prevention.
Examples of our TIPC work
Enrol in our Trauma-Informed Preventative Care Foundational eLearn on LearningHERO (RCH staff only).
Our eLearn aims to increase your understanding of trauma, and the prevalence and impact it can have on children, young people, families, and staff.
The eLearn covers:
- psychological trauma
- the prevalence and impact of trauma
- the prevalence and impact of paediatric medical traumatic stress and how we can recognise and respond to signs of overwhelm
- how staff's personal experience of trauma and exposure to secondary trauma can impact wellbeing
We have evaluated the BSP, a trauma-informed tool in the RCHÂ Electronic Medical Record, for its effectiveness, usability, and impact on improving hospital experiences for children, young people, families, and staff.
We have developed a full report and summary of the evaluation.
We have developed a policy summary for embedding TIPC at The Royal Children's Hospital.