New AAP Policies on Preventing Toxic Stress and Promoting Trauma-Informed Care
The AAP is emphasizing the significance of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and positive childhood experiences in preventing and healing toxic stress and building resilience in two new policy statements and a clinical report on preventing childhood toxic stress and promoting trauma-informed care. When children lack safe, stable, and nurturing relationships, their response to stress over time can result in lifelong impairments in physical, mental, and relational health; when children feel connected and supported in the early years, they are more likely to become healthy, competent and educated citizens la
ter in life. The AAP seeks to foster strength-based solutions at the family, provider, community, and societal levels from primary prevention to addressing the effects of toxic stress and trauma on children and families.
Preventing Childhood Toxic Stress: Partnering With Families and Communities to Promote Relational Health (policy statement), authored by Andrew Garner, MD, PhD, FAAP, Michael Yogman, MD, FAAP, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and Council on Early Childhood, provides guidance on implementing a public health approach to relational health at the professional, practice and community levels and includes recommendations to support pediatricians and pediatric health care professionals in this role.
Trauma-Informed Care in Child Health Systems (policy statement) and
Trauma-Informed Care (clinical report), authored by James Duffee, MD, MPH, FAAP, Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, FAAP, Heather Forkey, MD, FAAP, Erin T. Kelly, MD, FAAP, and the Council on Community Pediatrics, Council on Foster Care, Adoption and Kinship Care, Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health provide techniques and tools to address trauma in the clinical setting and include specific recommendations for governmental advocacy, large health systems, managed care organizations, academic institutions and children's hospitals to fully implement trauma-informed policies and procedures, to include care of healthcare workers, children, youth, family members and other caretakers.