Mitigation strategies are used to reduce the cause, impact, and consequences of a disaster. Trauma-informed systems of care can mitigate trauma and support resilience by acknowledging the impact trauma has on social-emotional and physical functioning. Such an approach has been shown to improve patient engagement, treatment adherence, and health outcomes, and decrease provider stress and burnout. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has provided suggestions for preparing to meet the needs of infants, children, and adolescents using a systems-based approach. Learn more about how systems can collaborate at Building an Effective System of Care to Address Emerging Threats to Infants and Children (AAP) to determine areas where disaster preparedness and response can be strengthened.

Working with Systems

It is recommended that systems in which children live and play (e.g. Emergency Department, medical home, other ambulatory settings, and schools) be trauma-informed. To be trauma-informed is to acknowledge, identify, and support that children may currently be experiencing trauma and possibly have had exposure to previous traumatic events including natural, biologic, and/or manmade disasters. SAMHSA’S Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach identifies four key principles to establishing a trauma-informed system of care. These key principles include: Realizing the widespread impact of trauma and understanding potential pathways to recovery; Recognizing signs and symptoms of trauma in patients; Responding by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures and practices; and Resisting re-traumatization by avoiding unintentional triggers of past traumatic experiences with organization policies and practices.  For more information on implementing a trauma-informed system of care within medical settings, refer to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network Trauma-Informed Integrated Care for Children and Families in Healthcare Settings.

Actionable Steps

The World Health Organization recently recognized that physician-centered individual care and hospital-based programs were inadequate to achieve global health. A population-based approach is recommended to provide multiple levels of intervention to address the health and mental health needs of the total population.

Behavioral health clinicians can mobilize the workforce to prepare for the psychological needs of children exposed to disasters through psychoeducation on risk and resilience factors, trauma reactions in children, collective trauma, and vicarious/secondary trauma.