Improving Knowledge and Attitudes About Child Trauma Among Parents and Staff in Head Start Programs

• Published in: Maternal and child health journal 2022-11, Vol.26 (11), p.2237-2246
• Main Authors: Guerrero, A., Herman, A., Teutsch, C., Dudovitz, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adverse childhood experiences; Attitudes; Beliefs, opinions and attitudes; Caregivers; Child care workers; Children & youth; Childrens health; Families & family life; Gynecology; Head Start project; Health education; Health literacy; Health promotion; Knowledge; Maternal & child health; Maternal and Child Health; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Oral hygiene; Parents; Parents & parenting; Pediatrics; Population Economics; Psychic trauma in children; Public Health; Public opinion; Sociology; Training
• ISSN: 1092-7875; 1573-6628
• DOI: 10.1007/s10995-022-03473-8

Background Early childhood represents a sensitive developmental period when trauma-informed care may mitigate the effects of trauma on developmental and health outcomes. However, few interventions use a low-literacy scalable approach to improve child trauma knowledge and attitudes among parents and early childcare and education caregivers. Methods Representatives from 24 early head start (EHS) and head start (HS) agencies attended a 2 day online train-the trainer session and then delivered a child trauma and resilience training to staff at their sites, with the option to deliver a similar training to parents. Baseline and 3 month post-training surveys assessed participant knowledge and attitudes regarding childhood trauma and resilience. Paired T-tests and chi2 analyses assessed changes in responses over time. Results Thousand five hundred sixty seven staff from 24 agencies and 443 parents from 7 agencies completed baseline and follow up surveys. Over 55% of parents reported their child had experienced at least one adverse childhood experience. Staff and parents had high knowledge regarding causes of trauma at baseline. Both staff and parents, demonstrated significant improvements in identifying symptoms of child trauma. Staff also improved knowledge of resiliency and toxic stress. Parents reported more positive attitudes towards trauma-informed parenting practices. Conclusion This is the first training on childhood trauma among EHS/HS providers and parents using a low literacy train-the-trainer approach. Results suggest a potentially promising methodology with broad dissemination potential to prepare and train the one million plus teachers and caregivers in center-based settings and the parents and families who access them to recognize and respond to child trauma.