OTs’ Perspectives With Addressing Illness-Induced Trauma in Medical Settings

INTRODUCTION: Illness-induced trauma (IIT) is a distressing experience occurring with medical conditions and/or life-threatening illness. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an approach for occupational therapists (OTs) to address trauma and provide a safe environment. Over 40% of OTs do not feel that TIC is adequately implemented in practice. No known research has focused on how OTs identify and manage IIT during therapeutic interactions. The purpose of this study was to examine OTs' perspectives and methods to address IIT in medical settings. DESIGN: We used an explanatory sequential mixed methods study design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants and targeted OTs in medical settings. METHOD: Twenty-four OT participants completed an online survey and 10 participated in a 1:1 semi-structured interview. Survey data was analyzed descriptively. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed with Dedoose qualitative software. RESULTS: Sixty-seven percent of OTs did not receive formal TIC training, 96% agreed that psychological trauma has an impact on rehabilitation outcomes, and 8% agreed that guidelines for TIC adequately consider the needs of clients with IIT. Qualitative results support 3 major themes: Illness-induced Trauma's Negative Effect on Rehabilitation, Variety in Occupational Therapy Approaches, and Barriers to Providing Trauma-informed Care. CONCLUSIONS: The use of TIC in OT may support a client's ability to process and heal from IIT. OTs can use a variety of approaches to address IIT in practice and could be dependent of OTs personal and professional factors. All OTs stated the importance of TIC practice with every client, as the medical process may be traumatic for anyone. Impact Statement: It appears that IIT could negatively impact a client's rehabilitation progress. For OTs, understanding the foundations and approaches of TIC may provide opportunities for clients to heal from their trauma.