Nurses' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Trauma-Informed Care: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Quality
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is essential for preventing re-traumatization in healthcare.
• Nurses are pivotal in delivering TIC.
• Existing research on nurses' engagement with TIC needs comprehensive mapping.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of research on nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning TIC.
• To identify gaps in understanding and application of TIC within nursing.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Searched six major databases for English-language studies published between 2011 and 2025.
• Thematic mapping was used to analyze 21 included studies.

Main Results:

• Nurses generally hold positive attitudes towards TIC principles.
• Significant knowledge gaps exist across various nursing specialties.
• Barriers include training deficits, time constraints, and setting-specific challenges; facilitators involve interprofessional collaboration.

Conclusions:

• While attitudes are favorable, consistent clinical application of TIC by nurses is lacking.
• Development of standardized, specialty-specific TIC training programs is recommended.
• Further research should evaluate the long-term impact of such training on nursing practices and patient outcomes.