Trauma-Informed Care in Adult Chronic Disease Management: A Scoping Review of Implementation and Integration into Clinical Practice

The objective of this scoping review was to conduct an in-depth analysis of how Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is conceptualised and implemented across adult chronic physical health care settings. It is well-documented that TIC enhances patient participation, patient safety and improves health outcomes. To date however, there remains significant variability with regard to how TIC principles are applied and integrated into chronic disease management processes. As a result, this review aims to synthesise existing literature pertaining to TIC, to identify which individuals with chronic diseases may require some form of TIC; how modifications to their respective care plans may occur as a function of identifiable traumatic experience(s); and finally, how those modifications can be made to constitute part of routine clinical practice. Ultimately, through the synthesis of available evidence related to these issues, and by identifying key gaps in knowledge requiring further investigation, our goal is to develop trauma-informed models of care which are both scalable and clinically applicable.