Supporting the Needs of Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Educating Staff on Trauma-Informed Care at an Intermediate Care Facility

Abstract

Individuals with intellectual disabilities are at a higher risk of experiencing trauma throughout their lives, which can alter their behaviors, experiences, perceptions, and interactions with others. The staff who care for and work with this population can often experience compassion fatigue and burnout, especially while dealing with their own past trauma experiences and expectations outside of the workplace. Trauma has the overarching ability to impact all individuals throughout their lifespan, thus limiting meaningful participation in desired occupations. This capstone project aimed to educate intermediate care facility staff on trauma-informed care to provide staff with the tools to better support and improve the quality of care for clients as well as reduce staff turnover and compassion fatigue. The capstone student created an evidence-based presentation about trauma-informed care to be implemented into the site’s orientation. Quasi-experimental research was utilized to measure the staff’s understanding of trauma-informed care and determine the effectiveness of the presentation in educating staff about trauma-informed care definitions and approaches relevant to the site’s clientele. The results propose that educating staff on trauma-informed care within orientation increases awareness and knowledge of trauma-informed care concepts and techniques. Recommendations for the organization and future research opportunities are provided.