Traumatic Stress and Depression Risk Screening at an ACS Verified Trauma Center

Physiological trauma that requires admission to an emergency department may result in psychological distress. As many as 20%-40% of civilians who experience trauma develop traumatic stress disorders and depression postinjury. Yet, less than 10% of trauma centers implement screening for traumatic stress and depression risk.

This project aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a traumatic stress and depression risk screening policy.

Twelve trauma advanced practice providers implemented the newly developed traumatic stress and depression risk screening policy at an American College of Surgeons verified Level II trauma center. Trauma patients admitted for greater than 24 hr, 14 years of age or older, with a Glasgow Coma Scale score greater than 13 were eligible for screening using the Injured Trauma Survivor Screen.

During the 6-week data collection period, 114 trauma patients presented to the emergency department. Of those, 82 (72%) met inclusion criteria, 77 (94%) eligible trauma patients were screened, and seven (9%) patients screened positive. Patients not eligible for screening were discharged within 24 hr or were too confused to answer questions. An evaluation survey revealed that the advanced practice providers thought that the screening policy was easy to use, feasible, not very time-consuming, and should be continued in the future.

This project demonstrated the ease and effectiveness of implementing a traumatic stress and depression risk screening policy and that only minor changes are needed to make it sustainable.