A Community-Based Trauma-Informed Care Curriculum on Women's Health for Third-Year Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction: Trauma affects 90% of individuals and has profound impacts on health, making it essential for medical trainees to recognize its effects. Trauma-informed care (TIC) offers a framework for developing these skills. Despite its importance, no TIC curriculum integrates community feedback into its design. To address this gap, we developed a 4-hour TIC curriculum that incorporates community insight, clinical expertise, and practical communication training.

Methods: The curriculum design followed community-based participatory research principles, engaging community members as contributors. The training included a dynamic combination of didactic lectures, video demonstrations, small-group role-play, and an OSCE, supported by a novel TIC toolkit. Community partners were trained as standardized patients (SPs). We assessed student outcomes through pre- and postsession surveys, employing 5-point Likert scales and open-ended responses. Additionally, a custom assessment tool was developed to evaluate OSCE performance, with SPs providing structured feedback.

Results: Thirty-four third-year medical students participated, with 100% survey completion. Quantitative analysis revealed significant increases in students' understanding of TIC principles and confidence in applying them from pre- to postsession (p < .05 for all metrics). Students demonstrated strong performance on the OSCE, achieving a mean OSCE performance score of 31.4/38 (or overall score of 82.6%). SP feedback highlighted the students' ability to engage empathetically and effectively in trauma-sensitive encounters.

Discussion: This novel TIC curriculum on women's health demonstrates a successful, scalable model for integrating TIC training into medical education. By embedding community voices and combining evidence-based principles with experiential learning, this program addresses educational gaps in TIC medical education.

Keywords: Communication Skills; Community Engagement; Community-Based Health Care; Community-Engaged Learning; Competency-Based Medical Education; Family Medicine; OB/GYN; Standardized Patient; Substance Use Disorders; Trauma-Informed Care; Women's Health.

Figure 1.. Distribution of OSCE performance scores among trauma-informed care session participants (N = 34). The grading rubric had a minimum possible score of 0 and a maximum of 38. Students achieved a M (SD) score of 31.4 (1.8), with a minimum of 28 and maximum of 35.

Figure 2.. Effectiveness of the trauma-informed care curriculum rated by session participants (N = 34). Scores are on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = poor, 5 = excellent).