Clinician Perspectives: Exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences of Patients with End-Stage

Abstract

The health care field has become increasingly aware that ACEs are connected to long-term health concerns, such as end-stage kidney disease. These concerns, caused by health-risk behaviors, result in an increased mortality risk for persons with exposure to ACEs. The present qualitative exploratory study investigated how 24 nephrology clinicians addressed adherence challenges with patients who had a history of trauma or ACEs. It evaluated clinician knowledge, perceived competency, and attitudes in the use of trauma-informed care practices. The results of the study found that no study participant conducted a formal assessment for ACEs, trauma was a perceived barrier to adherence, approaches varied on how nephrology clinicians responded to patients with a known history of ACEs or trauma, and clinicians had limited to no knowledge of trauma-informed care.