Trauma-Informed Care in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy to Reduce Retraumatization

To provide an overview of trauma-informed care, including the neurobiology of trauma, interventions to reduce retraumatizing patients who have experienced trauma, and implications of trauma-informed care in medical imaging and radiation therapy.

A comprehensive search of electronic databases related to the purpose of this project resulted in the collection of 12 peer-reviewed journal articles. Two conference papers, 1 behavioral science textbook, 1 trauma neurobiology textbook, 1 professional conference presentation, and 1 governmental report also were reviewed to complement the journal articles. A thematic analysis was performed to identify commonalities among the selected sources.

Four themes identified in the literature included definitions of trauma-informed care, neurobiology of trauma, pillars of trauma-informed care for intervention, and implications in medical imaging and radiation therapy.

A trauma-informed health care professional realizes the prevalence of trauma, recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma, responds by integrating knowledge about trauma into practice, and actively resists retraumatizing the patient (ie, avoids creating an environment that inadvertently reminds patients of their traumatic experiences and causes them to experience emotional and biological stress). The pillars of trauma-informed care include safety, trustworthiness or transparency, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and responsiveness or cultural considerations. Delivery of health care often involves assessment and interventions in locations on the patient's body where trauma has previously occurred, increasing the probability of retraumatization and manifestation of signs and symptoms of trauma. Radiologic technologists and radiation therapists should be trauma-informed when they are interacting with and caring for patients to reduce retraumatization. A hypothetical case study also is presented to show how radiologic technologists can use the pillars of trauma-informed care in the clinic.

Because many aspects of care, including routine care in medical imaging and radiation therapy, can be an unintentional reminder of a traumatic experience, health care professionals should be trauma-informed when they are interacting with and caring for patients.