Experiences of Dietetic Interns Taking a Trauma-Informed Care Educational Intervention

Abstract

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) approaches recognize the impact of trauma on patients' health and their ability to engage in therapeutic relationships. TIC training should follow the same principles as students may have a trauma history. This educational intervention explored the experiences and attitude changes among dietetic interns (DIs) taking TIC training and developed recommendations for trauma-informed teaching practices. A multi-method interpretative phenomenological design was employed for this educational intervention. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine Hispanic female DIs completing their supervised practice at Veterans Affairs Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) dietetic internship program. The intervention consisted of three modules, and pre-and post-intervention surveys were administered. According to statistical analysis, four out of the eight statements showed significant changes in attitude with a large effect size. The analysis revealed five main themes: 1) Change of attitude, where interns became more aware of implicit bias and personal identity; 2) The teaching approach was comfortable enough to share and discuss complex topics; 3) Inquiry-based learning, highlighting the value of topics for dietetic practice and self-reflection; 4) Emotionally engaged, with interns experiencing various emotions and recognizing the importance of trigger warnings; 5) Recommendations for future training. This educational project contributes to the literature on TIC education among DIs. The findings emphasize the need for integrating TIC principles into TIC educational interventions and provide valuable insights into the safest methods for teaching TIC in dietetic internships. The recommendations derived from this project can guide the development of effective TIC teaching practices in healthcare education.