Addressing adverse childhood experiences, trauma and resilience through interprofessional course development

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Public Health
• Social Work

Background:

• Growing focus on interprofessional education in health to address complex issues.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) represent a significant public health concern.
• Need for integrated approaches to trauma, resilience, and interprofessional collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of an interprofessional course on ACEs, trauma, and resiliency.
• To foster interprofessional collaboration among nursing, public health, and social work students.
• To integrate evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies for ACEs.

Main Methods:

• Collaborative curriculum development by faculty from nursing, public health, and social work.
• Course offered at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
• Content focused on ACEs, trauma, resiliency literature, and interprofessional practice.

Main Results:

• Successful development and implementation of a novel interprofessional course.
• Faculty gained insights into interprofessional course design and delivery.
• Identified key resources and lessons learned for future initiatives.

Conclusions:

• Interprofessional education is crucial for addressing complex public health issues like ACEs.
• Collaborative curriculum development enhances the preparedness of health professionals.
• This model provides a framework for other institutions to develop similar programs.