Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2025
Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
Physical Health Consequences of Vicarious Trauma: Prospective Relationship Between Hospital Patient Care Worker
Elisabeth Anne Stelson1, Glorian Sorensen, Lisa Berkman
1From the Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (E.A.S., G.S., L.B., L.D.K., E.L.S.); Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (E.A.S.); Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (S.B.); Boston College Law School, Newton, Massachusetts (D.H.); and Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (E.L.S.).
Objective:
Vicarious trauma (VT) is "secondhand" trauma healthcare workers experience when interacting with trauma survivors. The prospective relationship between workers' VT symptoms and physical health has not been studied.
Methods:
Survey data from 775 hospital workers were linked to health insurance expenditures to identify stress-related conditions known as disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBIs) occurrence within 1-year follow-up. VT symptoms (modeled continuously and categorically) and conditional odds of developing DGBI were assessed with multilevel logistic regression.
Results:
Conditional odds of DGBI increased 4% for every one-point increase in VT symptom score (95% confidence interval, 0.98 to 1.11; P = 0.17). Participants with high versus low VT symptoms had 3.40-times the conditional odds of DGBI (95% confidence interval, 1.44 to 8.06; P = 0.01).
Conclusion:
Workers with high versus low VT symptoms had significantly higher odds of developing DGBIs, indicating that VT may adversely impact workers' physical health.
More Related Videos
09:55Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
09:49Assessment of Perigenital Sensitivity and Prostatic Mast Cell Activation in a Mouse Model of Neonatal Maternal Separation
Published on: August 13, 2015
Related Concept Videos
01:30Other Disorders of Digestive System
01:29Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System II: Health Perception Pattern
Health Perception Patterns
Health perception patterns offer valuable insights into a patient's lifestyle habits and how they may impact their GI health. These patterns include:
01:17Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System I: Subjective Data
Health History
The initial step in assessing the GI system is obtaining a comprehensive health history. This includes inquiring about the patient's history or presence of problems...
01:30Bulimia Nervosa
01:30Peptic Ulcer Disease I: Introduction
An acute ulcer, marked by superficial erosion and minimal inflammation, swiftly resolves upon identifying and addressing the underlying cause. In contrast, a chronic ulcer persists, potentially eroding through the muscular wall and forming fibrous tissue.
Peptic ulcers can also be...
01:17Chronic Bowel Disorders: Introduction
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract. The distinctive feature is recurrent abdominal pain associated with altered bowel movements, manifesting as constipation, diarrhea, or fluctuating between both. The...