New study will explore how general practices can become trauma-informed

A new University of Bristol led study, TAP CARE GP, will investigate the gaps, enablers and obstacles to implementing a trauma-informed approach to service provision in UK general practice.

Trauma-informed care is a new approach to service improvement that aims to prevent re-traumatisation and improve experiences and outcomes for all patients and staff.

Many NHS policies and guidelines recommend trauma-informed healthcare, however the evidence for its feasibility and effectiveness is limited.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded study follows on from the TAP CARE Study, which included three systematic reviews and a review of UK policy and professional perspectives on trauma-informed approaches in primary and community health care.

Dr Natalia Lewis, NIHR School for Primary Care Research Fellow at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, who is leading the TAP CARE GP study, said:

“Psychological trauma occurs as a result of childhood maltreatment, domestic abuse, community violence, and social injustice. We know that many patients and healthcare professionals have experienced multiple traumas. If universal prevalence and impacts of trauma are not addressed, services can re-traumatise both patients and staff.

“We will be exploring how UK general practices can become trauma-informed organisations, looking at their practice-specific needs, abilities and preferences for trauma-informed organisational change.

“We need four practices from Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire to take part. They must be research active, serve areas of high deprivation, and interested in improving their service provision in a trauma-informed way.”

Study activities include one-off interviews with five healthcare professionals and five patients and a facility observation in each practice.

A university researcher will arrange an interview about individuals’ experiences of service provision at a time, and in a place and format, that is convenient for each participant.

The study will run from December 2022 to March 2024.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact the study team at: [email protected], Tel: (+44) 0117 455 1988.

This study is funded through Dr Natalia Lewis’  NIHR School for Primary Care Research Post-doctoral Fellowship. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.