Date
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Time
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Name
Trauma-Informed Care: Increasing Access in Pediatric Primary Care
Track
Physical and Mental Health
Jessica Peck
Description

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an essential holistic framework for pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to understand, recognize, and respond to children and families who have experienced trauma while resisting re-traumatization. TIC allows APRNs to engage with children with an understanding of how trauma impacts well-being. Universal adoption of TIC is prudent; it assumes all patients experience some degree of trauma and disclosure is limited. The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Partners for Vulnerable Youth published an evidence-based TIC toolkit online for pediatric-focused ARPNs as a clinical guide for TIC application. This article reviews toolkit elements and demonstrates practical application of TIC. Every year in the United States (U.S.), millions of children experience traumatic events, including maltreatment, natural disasters, abuse, and violence. The lasting impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences(ACEs) is an insidious public health emergency. Trauma and ACEs increase the likelihood of chronic health conditions with high morbidity and mortality. Toxic stress and complex trauma, especially in the absence of protective factors, have been shown to lead to poor physical and mental health outcomes. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an essential holistic framework for pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) to understand, recognize, and respond to children and families who have experienced Aces, trauma, and the subsequent physiologic and psycho-logic impact. TIC offers opportunities for pediatric-docusoaps to engage with children and their families, leveraging an understanding of how trauma affects overall health and well-being. Given ACEs’ pervasiveness and long-term consequences, a growing need exists to enhance pediatric-focused APRN competence and confidence in applying TIC in all clinical settings. Studies demonstrate that providing education and resources on TIC to healthcare professionals (HCPs) improves knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, and utilization of TIC. The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) Partners for Vulnerable Youth (PVY) has recently published a position paper emphasizing the importance and impact of TIC. Following this, an evidence-based TIC toolkit was published online specifically for pediatric-focused ARPNs to act as a practical clinical guide in implementing TIC practices. The NAPNAP PVY TIC toolkit provides a much-needed comprehensive resource to aid pediatric-focused APRNs in initiating TIC early with a holistic care lens to provide primary and secondary prevention of complications related to trauma and ACEs. This session will review elements of the toolkit and give pediatric-docusoaps guidance for practical application of TIC in clinical practice.