Utility of screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in children and young people attending clinical and healthcare settings: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To examine and synthesise the literature on adverse childhood experience (ACE) screening in clinical and healthcare settings servicing children (0-11) and young people (12-25). DESIGN: A systematic review of literature was undertaken. DATA SOURCE: PsycInfo, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed and CINAHL were searched through June 2021. Additional searches were also undertaken. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: English language studies were included if they reported results of an ACE tool being used in a clinical or healthcare setting, participants were aged between 0 and 25 years and the ACE tool was completed by children/young people or by parents/caregivers/clinicians on behalf of the child/young person. Studies assessing clinicians' views on ACE screening in children/young people attending health settings were also included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed for risk of bias using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results were synthesised qualitatively. RESULTS: Initial searches identified 5231 articles, of which 36 were included in the final review. Findings showed that the most commonly used tool for assessing ACE was the ACE questionnaire; administering ACE tools was found to be feasible and acceptable; there were limited studies looking at the utility, feasibility and acceptability of assessing for ACE in First Nations people; and while four studies provided information on actions taken following ACE screening, no follow-up data were collected to determine whether participants accessed services and/or the impact of accessing services. CONCLUSION: As the evidence stands, widespread ACE screening is not recommended for routine clinical use. More research is needed on how and what specific ACE to screen for and the impact of screening on well-being. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD42021260420).

Emergency Department staff experiences of screening and response for intimate partner violence in a multi-site feasibility study: Acceptability, enablers and barriers.

BACKGROUND: Intimate partner violence is a lead cause of ill health and premature death among Australian women. Abused women are likely to present to Emergency Departments. Routine screening provides opportunities to identify and respond to intimate partner violence. METHODS: A six-month screening feasibility study was conducted in two rural and one urban NSW Emergency Departments. Surveys with participating nurses, medical officers and social workers, as well as focus groups with nurses and social workers were conducted at each site to understand their experience. RESULTS: Survey respondents (n = 198) agreed it was appropriate (87%) and acceptable (91%) to screen for intimate partner violence in Emergency Departments. Overall 62% of respondents suggested screening had positive impacts on womens' care. Focus group discussions with 39 nurses and social workers identified enablers of screening as: ease of use of the screening tool; availability of social work response within one hour (as per the study protocol); and executive support. Barriers were: high patient volume; lack of integration with existing processes; lack of privacy and brevity of training. CONCLUSIONS: Screening in Emergency Departments was strongly supported by health practitioners who responded to the survey. Work is needed to address competing demands, integration of screening processes, and staff training.

Intimate partner violence screening and response in New South Wales emergency departments: A multi-site feasibility study.

OBJECTIVE: To test feasibility of a systematic approach to routine screening and response for intimate partner violence among women presenting to three New South Wales EDs. METHODS: This prospective feasibility study was conducted over 6 months in two rural and one major tertiary metropolitan ED in New South Wales. Women aged 16-45 years triaged category 3-5 (treat within 30 min/1 h/2 h), who could be approached privately, were screened for intimate partner violence using the validated HITS (Hurts, Insults, Threatens and Screams or Swears) tool. The follow-up protocol for patients who disclosed abuse, specified a social work/psychology (psychosocial) response within 1 h. Outcomes of interest were screening rates of eligible presentations, disclosures of abuse, psycho-social referral and responses. Interviews conducted with ED medical directors and nurse unit managers at each site explored barriers and facilitators. RESULTS: A total of 1047 women (11.4% of eligible presentations) completed screening at their first or subsequent presentation. Of 868 women screened on first presentation, 18% (n = 154) disclosed intimate partner violence, with no significant differences by age group, country of birth, triage category or time/day of arrival. Key barriers to screening were high patient volume, absence of electronic prompts and lack of privacy. Of those who screened positive 49% (n = 75) received an immediate, on-site psycho-social response. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that it is both possible and relevant, given the 18% disclosure rate, to screen women in relation intimate partner violence in EDs and provide a psycho-social response within 1 h. More needs to be done to address barriers to screening to provide opportunities for early intervention.

'I was raped by Santa Claus': responding to disclosures of sexual assault in mental health inpatient facilities.

Sexual violence is significantly higher among those with mental illness than the rest of the population. The risk of sexual violence posed to patients during inpatient admissions is now also beginning to be recognized, but remains a challenging area of practice. This paper introduces a trauma-informed care approach for responding to disclosures of sexual violence by people with serious mental illness, taking into account the complexities of caring for individuals who might be unable to provide coherent accounts of assaults and/or who might be experiencing varying degrees of psychosis. A framework for understanding and responding to disclosures of sexual violence that occur in mental health facilities is described, recognizing that such disclosures take many forms, including plausible and implausible accounts of recent sexual violence, as well as disclosures of past abuse triggered by current traumatic experiences. Illustrated by case studies, the practice implications for each type of disclosure described in the framework are explored in relation to investigation, care planning, and prevention.

'Talk, talk, cry, laugh': learning, healing and building an Aboriginal workforce to address family violence.

Sexual abuse and family violence are widespread and under-reported phenomena for which Aboriginal victims face even greater barriers to asking for and receiving assistance than do others in the community. There is a need for strategies to address abuse without disempowering and alienating Aboriginal people. A program developed by the New South Wales Health Education Centre Against Violence is addressing this issue at the same time as contributing towards a strengthened Aboriginal health workforce. The training program which is a 1-year qualification course has grown from a 52% rate of graduation in its first 6 years to 92%. Three practices in the classroom have contributed to this success. These are: (i) recognition of the emotional impact of the training and its links to participants own histories; (ii) providing space to address participants negative prior educational experiences; and (iii) further developing content on the recent sociopolitical history of Aboriginal people. These practices have strengthened this successful course, which is building a skilled workforce to provide accessible, culturally sensitive services for Aboriginal people experiencing abuse.