Trauma-Informed Care for Children: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Trauma-informed care involves providing services to traumatized patients with an understanding of and sensitivity to their experiences. This scoping review examines the literature concerning trauma-informed care for children.Methods: We conducted a comprehensive literature search across domestic (RISS, NDSL, KISS, and DBpia) and international (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) databases. The search terms were “trauma,” “PTSD,” “trauma-informed,” “trauma-focused,” “trauma-sensitive,” “newborn,” “neonate,” “premature infant,” “infant,” “child,” “adolescent,” “teen,” “juvenile,” “adolescence,” “pediatric,” and “nursing”. The final selection comprised 18 documents that were analyzed for general characteristics (publication year, study country, academic sector, research design, and data collection method), population demographics, variables, and measurement tools.Results: Literature on this topic considerably increased since 2017, with the United States being the predominant research hub (50.0%) and nursing representing the primary academic sector (55.6%). The research designs were mainly quantitative (33.3%) and mixed-method studies (33.3%). Quantitative studies predominantly utilized surveys, while qualitative research employed observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Most of the participants were nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals. As a result of analyzing the main variables measured in the literature through WordCloud, variables such as “stress,” “care,” and “knowledge” had the highest frequency. Three studies incorporated or adapted tools to assess trauma-informed care.Conclusions: The findings of this review serve as foundational data for proposing future research trajectories in trauma-informed care and for enhancing awareness and strategic planning in clinical practice.