Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors Undergoing Cancer Treatment: A Case for Trauma-Informed Integrated Care

Abstract

Patients in medical settings with more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as sexual abuse, demonstrate reduced treatment adherence and greater relational difficulties with providers, potentially contributing to negative health outcomes. Integrated care addresses holistic patient healthcare needs within an interdisciplinary treatment team. Trauma-informed care serves as a potential approach to address patient and provider difficulty, yet practical guidance as to how to implement this approach within integrated care settings is lacking. This article makes the case for trauma-informed integrated care and provides a case example in an oncology setting to illustrate the utility of trauma-informed integrated care with the use of an embedded mental health counselor. Resulting training and practice recommendations include (a) universal screening for ACE in medical settings, (b) enhanced interprofessional education, and (c) provision of embedded counseling and supervision services within integrated care settings. Future research directions are explored.