PHO Webinar: A Trauma and Violence-Informed Approach to Completing Sensitive Assessments

Public health nurses, and other health care professionals, regularly complete comprehensive assessments when working with pregnant individuals or parents of young children. Often these assessments include questions about potentially sensitive histories of past or current experiences of trauma or interpersonal violence. Personal information about associated health effects, including substance use or mental health impacts, or other “risk” indicators are also typically sought. This session will discuss the application of trauma and violence-informed care (TVIC) principles during these assessments to support providers to become “trauma aware” and navigate challenging discussions in a manner where the emotional and physical safety of the client is prioritized.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
• Introduce and frame the purpose and scope of an assessment to a client.
• Create a physically and emotionally safe environment to facilitate a discussion of sensitive topics.
• Recognize and respond if a client is activated or experiences a traumatic stress response.
• Respond empathically to a disclosure of trauma (i.e., history of childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence), or a sharing of mental health concerns, including substance use.

Presenters: Susan Jack