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Pediatric medical traumatic stress after pediatric injury: a review of interventions with caregivers and children

Herrera, Jasmine (2018) Pediatric medical traumatic stress after pediatric injury: a review of interventions with caregivers and children. Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.

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Abstract

Every year more than a million children suffer an unintentional or accidental injury (e.g. injuries from motor vehicle accidents, falls, burns, etc.) causing transient or persistent stress for these children and their families. These experiences influence short-term and long-term recovery which subsequently may shape quality of life. Pediatric medical traumatic stress (PMTS) includes traumatic stress, acute stress disorder (ASD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Stress due to the experience surrounding sudden illness or injury shapes psychological and physiological experiences of children and families. However, preventive interventions post-injury can lower the risk of traumatic stress. There is a growing focus on these injured children with studies now outlining factors such as the timing of interventions and suggesting interventions targeting posttraumatic stress shortly after the injury. However, further exploration needs to focus on how the intervention outcome measurements define a successful intervention. Related to person-in-environment and the importance of a person’s social ecology to processing stress, my examination of existing intervention reviews and meta-analysis also found no discussion of social stress and how it plays out in the experience of minorities with a potentially traumatic injury.
I frame my synthesis by stating that there is still much to learn about the process of these interventions that seek to enact positive health behaviors after injury, thus encouraging the prevention and reduction of stress to improve health outcomes for children and their families. I analyze outcome measures and their application with children, parents, or families in order to evaluate definitions and measures of outcome success. My synthesis contributes to uniform definitions and measures of success when it comes to forming an intervention that seeks to address potential stress for injured children and their families. High rates of unintentional injury among children every year and the possibility of continued, accumulated stress on children post-injury deems this issue a public health concern.
The results of my synthesis were that measures of success vary, with many interventions failing to capture stress induced by the child’s surrounding social ecology along with measuring changes in a child’s stress level. In addition, the studies did not consider minority representation as a significant influence on the intensity and duration of PMTS. There was little to no minority representation in interventions involving children and/or families after a potentially traumatic injury. Overall, most interventions did not routinely measure health-related quality of life.
More consistent measures are needed for these types of interventions that combine measures that capture changes in the overall picture of a child’s lived experience with potential stress. Health disparities among minority populations warrant further exploration in ways to intentionally increase minority representation for these types of interventions.


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Details

Item Type: Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper (Master Essay)
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Herrera, Jasminejnh38@pitt.edujnh38
Contributors:
ContributionContributors NameEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairDocumet, Patriciapdocumet@pitt.edupdocumetUNSPECIFIED
Committee MemberBradley-King, Cynthiackb11@pitt.educkb11UNSPECIFIED
Date: 24 August 2018
Date Type: Submission
Number of Pages: 75
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Public Health > Behavioral and Community Health Sciences
Degree: MPH - Master of Public Health
Thesis Type: Master Essay
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: trauma, pediatric injury, adolescents, children, caregiver, intervention, social work
Date Deposited: 20 Sep 2018 19:45
Last Modified: 20 Sep 2018 19:45
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/34978

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