Impact of adverse childhood experience education on primary care providers

Abstract

<p><strong>Problem:</strong> Adverse childhood experiences are related to increased risk of chronic health conditions and health outcomes in adulthood. An estimated 60% of the adult U.S. population is impacted. Research has indicated that many primary care providers are unaware of the patient&rsquo;s childhood history and its impact on long-term health outcomes. This study examined the impact of an adverse childhood experience education module on Primary Care Provider&rsquo;s knowledge of adverse childhood experiences and ability to prevent, identify, and manage high ACE scores to improve patient outcomes.</p> <p><strong>Intervention:</strong> Participants were invited to attend an educational session that examined basic foundational knowledge of adverse childhood experience information including the definition, types of ACEs, understanding the ACE score, and prevalence, along with the correlation between ACE and health status, consequences of a high ACE score, and possible interventions tailored to Primary Care Providers.</p> <p><strong>Measures:</strong> A post-test survey evaluated the effectiveness of the intervention in three domains: basic adverse childhood experience knowledge, confidence in identifying ACE, and perception of ACE and health status correlation.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Analysis showed an understanding of the education provided to them as indicated by the mean, standard deviation, and mode. Most participants agree or strongly agree they understand and are knowledgeable about adverse childhood experiences (M = 4.12, SD = 0.95), as well as acknowledge ACEs have an impact on future adult physical and mental health (M = 4.68, SD = 0.79).</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is a gap in healthcare providers&rsquo; knowledge of adverse childhood experiences and implementation of the routine of ACE screening in primary care, as well as the correlation between an increased ACE score and health status. There is evidence that providers report further understanding of trauma-informed care and the impact of ACE on health status, which validates the significance of provider education in addressing knowledge gaps and increasing routine ACE screening in primary care to potentially lead to earlier interventions, improved health outcomes, and decreased healthcare costs.</p>