Feasibility of a screening program for at-risk children following accidental injury

Area of Science:

• Trauma and Injury Research
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Public Health Screening

Background:

• Screening is recommended for identifying trauma-exposed individuals needing monitoring.
• Effective large-scale screening program implementation methods remain underdeveloped.
• Hospitalized youth exposed to injury are a vulnerable population requiring accessible mental health support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the feasibility and utility of a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) screening program for hospitalized youth in Australia.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of initial screening and a subsequent rescreening phase.
• To assess the rate of PTSD diagnosis and treatment initiation following screening.

Main Methods:

• A screening program was implemented in 3 Australian hospitals for youth exposed to injury.
• Eligible families were contacted, and children were screened for PTSD risk 1-2 weeks post-injury.
• A rescreening phase was introduced at 4-6 weeks post-injury for children initially identified as at risk.

Main Results:

• 546 children (48.0%) were screened; 95 (17.4%) were identified as at risk.
• Rescreening identified 26 (38.2%) children still at risk at 4-6 weeks post-injury.
• 21 children (3.8%) were diagnosed with PTSD, and 17 (3.1%) commenced treatment; response rates were lower than anticipated.

Conclusions:

• Screening successfully identified children with PTSD, but low response rates limited overall program utility.
• The rescreening phase indicated that not all at-risk children require immediate intervention, supporting a watchful waiting strategy.
• Findings align with previous research on natural symptom remission and highlight the value of rescreening in trauma-exposed youth management.