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Coping with Accident Reactions (CARE) early intervention programme for preventing traumatic stress reactions in young
Alexandra C De Young1, Ann-Christin Haag2, Justin A Kenardy3
1Centre for Children's Burns and Trauma Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. adeyoung@uq.edu.au.
Insights
Early intervention for young children experiencing accidental injuries can prevent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Coping with Accident Reactions (CARE) program is being evaluated in two international studies to assess its effectiveness in at-risk children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric trauma and mental health.
- Child psychology and intervention research.
Background:
- Accidental injuries are common in children under 6, with 10-30% developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Parental PTSD following a child's injury has negative consequences for the child's recovery.
- The mental health needs of young injured children have been historically underserved due to uncertainty in early intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of the Coping with Accident Reactions (CARE) program.
- To prevent persistent PTSD reactions in young children screened as 'at risk' after an unintentional injury.
- To address gaps in early psychological intervention for traumatized young children.
Main Methods:
- Two international randomized controlled trials in Australia and Switzerland.
- Children aged 1-6 screened as at-risk for PTSD post-injury and their parents are randomized.
- Intervention group receives the CARE program; control group receives treatment as usual, with assessments at baseline, 3, and 6 months.
Main Results:
- This section is not available in the provided abstract.
Conclusions:
- This international collaboration will provide valuable data on screening and early intervention for young injured children.
- Expected outcomes will significantly contribute to the evidence base for clinical treatment and recovery of very young injured children.
Background:
Accidental injury represents the most common type of traumatic event experienced by children under the age of 6 years. Around 10-30 % of young injured children will go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other co-morbid conditions. Parents of injured children are also at risk of PTSD, and this is associated with short- and long-term consequences for their children's physical and psychological recovery. Despite the significance of this problem, to date, the mental health needs of injured young children have been neglected. One reason for this is due to the uncertainty and considerable debate around how to best provide early psychological intervention to traumatised children and adults. To address these gaps, researchers and psychologists in Australia and Switzerland have developed the Coping with Accident Reactions (CARE) programme, which is a two-session early intervention designed to prevent persistent PTSD reactions in young injured children screened as 'at risk'. Two separate international studies are being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of this programme.
Methods/Design:
The study design for the two proposed studies will employ a randomised controlled trial design and children (aged 1-6 years) who are screened as at risk for PTSD 1 week after an unintentional injury, and their parents will be randomised to either (1) CARE intervention or (2) treatment as usual. Assessment will be completed at baseline (2 weeks) and 3 and 6 months post-injury.
Discussion:
This international collaboration provides an excellent opportunity to test the benefit of screening and providing early intervention to young children in two different countries and settings. It is expected that outcomes from this research will lead to significant original contributions to the scientific evidence base and clinical treatment and recovery of very young injured children.
Trial Registration:
The Australian study was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ( ACTRN12614000325606 ) on 26 March 2014. The Swiss study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT02088814 ) on 12 March 2014.
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