Special section of The Permanente Journal focuses on how early-life trauma correlates to poor health outcomes

For Immediate Release

OAKLAND, Calif., March 15, 2024 — Innovation in trauma-informed health care is the core focus of a special section in today’s issue of The Permanente Journal. The special section features 13 articles that touch on this increasingly prominent approach and reaches into several diverse subdomains such as mental health, physical health, body size diversity and systems-level implementation. Workplace wellness, clinician training and medical school curricula related to trauma are also covered in the issue.

Trauma-informed health care has grown in recognition in recent years and become an increasingly important aspect in care delivery.

A key finding of the original ACE Study conducted at Kaiser Permanente in 1998 showed that adverse childhood experiences — or “ACEs” — is associated with higher rates of preventable illness and premature death later in life. As patients and health care practitioners take notice, new research findings compel clinical practice to step up to meet the increasing demand for trauma-informed health care.

In total, the special section reflects the work of authors from 27 organizations, including Harvard Medical School, The Center for Collaborative Study of Trauma, Health Equity, and Neurobiology in Chicago, Emory University School of Medicine and others.

Highlighted articles in the special section include:

• Toward Integration of Trauma, Resilience, and Equity Theory and Practice: A Narrative Review and Call for Consilience (Sonu, Mann, Potter, Rush and Stillerman)
• Clinic Readiness for Trauma-Informed Health Care Is Associated With Uptake of Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences (Machtinger, Eberhart, Ashwood, et al.)
• Time to Move Forward: Resilience and Trauma-Informed Care (Leitch and McCaw)

The special section is co-guest edited by Ellen Goldstein, PhD (University of Illinois College of Nursing), Audrey Stillerman, MD (University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine and Center for Collaborative Study of Trauma, Health Equity, and Neurobiology) and Martina Jelley, MD, MSPH (University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine).

The co-guest editors note in their forthcoming introduction that despite advances in trauma-informed health care research, “…there is still more for all of us to do to realize the full potential of trauma-informed care. Our intent for this special section is to inspire you to advance your trauma, equity and resilience education, practice and research in your own health care settings and beyond.”

The special section also pays homage to seminal research upon which recent advances have been built. These include a nod to last year being the 25th anniversary of researcher Vincent Felitti, MD, and colleagues’ 1998 landmark study on adverse childhood experiences and this year being the 20th anniversary of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach manual.

The articles included in the special section are available as part of the journal’s special collection.

###

About The Permanente Journal

The Permanente Journal, published by The Permanente Federation, is a premier publication for content related to health care delivery science, value-based and high-value care, and clinical and applied research. An open-access publication, The Permanente Journal has been publishing research on the practices of high-quality, evidence-based, equitable, and value-based and high-value care since 1997.

About The Permanente Federation
The Permanente Federation LLC is the national leadership and consulting organization for the 8 Permanente Medical Groups, which, together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, comprise Kaiser Permanente. The Federation works on behalf of the Permanente Medical Groups to optimize care delivery and spread Permanente Medicine — medicine that is person- and family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally responsive, team-delivered, and physician-led. The Federation, based in Oakland, California, fosters an open learning environment and accelerates research, innovation, and performance improvements across the Permanente Medical Groups to expand the reach of Kaiser Permanente's integrated care delivery model and to lead the nation in transforming health care.