Trauma-Informed Social Policy: A Conceptual Framework for Policy Analysis and Advocacy

Trauma-informed care is a service provision model used across a range of practice settings. Drawing on an extensive body of research on trauma (broadly defined as experiences that produce enduring emotional pain and distress) and health outcomes, we have argued that the principles of trauma-informed care can be extended to social policy. Citing a variety of health-related policy examples, we have described how policy can better reflect 6 core principles of trauma-informed care: safety, trustworthiness and transparency, collaboration, empowerment, choice, and intersectionality. This framework conveys a politicized understanding of trauma, reflecting the reality that trauma and its effects are not equally distributed, and offers a pathway for public health professionals to disrupt trauma-driven health disparities through policy action.