New Evaluation Finds that a Trauma-Informed Clinic is the Foundation for Successful Adoption of ACE Screening | | |
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A new paper confirms a central tenet of the ACEs Aware initiative – a trauma-informed environment of care is a crucial foundation for Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) screening.
The paper, entitled Clinic Readiness for Trauma-Informed Health Care Is Associated with Uptake of Screening for Adverse Childhood Experiences, was published in The Permanente Journal in January 2024 and was conducted as part of the California ACEs Learning and Quality Improvement Collaborative (CALQIC).
In the paper, the evaluation found that clinics that experienced larger increases in readiness for trauma-informed health care over the course of the 16-month CALQIC learning collaborative screened significantly more patients for ACEs, supporting the longstanding ethos that trauma inquiry, such as ACE screening, is best accomplished in trauma-informed environments of care.
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These findings add to recently published papers from CALQIC that found that clinicians, clinical staff, pediatric patients, and caregivers perceived ACE screening to be feasible, acceptable, and beneficial, and that no adverse effects on patients were reported in the six weeks following screening. (See additional published CALQIC findings in our December 2023 newsletter)
CALQIC was launched in 2020 to identify promising practices, tools, resources, and partnerships to inform the ACEs Aware initiative as it scaled across California. ACE screening and response was piloted in 48 clinic sites across seven California regions that collectively serve nearly 250,000 patients covered by Medi-Cal.
Authors of the paper include Edward Machtinger, MD, co-principal investigator of the UCLA-UCSF ACEs Aware Family Resilience Network (UCAAN); UCAAN clinical adviser Brigid McCaw, MD, MPH, MS, FACP; the RAND Corporation; and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. They conclude that ACE screening initiatives should include education and sufficient support for clinics to embrace a trauma-informed systems change process. See below for how ACEs Aware supports clinics and health care teams through training and support services.
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ACEs Aware Resources to Support ACE Screening and Response | |
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No matter where your clinic is at on its ACE screening and response journey, ACEs Aware has resources available to help.
Training
The Becoming ACEs Aware in California online training provides free training for clinics to become trauma informed and launch an ACE screening initiative. Completion of the training is required for eligible Medi-Cal providers to be reimbursed for conducting ACE screenings.
In addition to the Becoming ACEs Aware in California training, the ACEs Aware Learning Center includes self-paced e-courses about evidence-based toxic stress mitigation strategies (Stress Busters) and how to implement an ACE screening initiative in clinical settings.
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It also includes dozens of ACEs Aware webinars, including series on ACE Screening and Trauma-Informed Care in Reproductive Health, and Science and Innovation. Most trainings provide continuing education credit.
ACE Screening Implementation How-To Guide
An online course and an online guide provide clinical teams step-by-step guidance on how to introduce ACE screening and trauma-informed care into practice at the organizational level.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Check out our FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions about implementation and more.
Technical Assistance
California health care teams can contact our team of experts to get answers to their implementation questions.
Clinical Implementation Pilot Program
California Medi-Cal providers can apply for funding to overcome barriers to implementing and sustaining an ACE screening and response initiative in their clinic. Find out more about eligibility requirements and how to apply for funding.
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NAMI Hosts Podcast on Racism as an Adverse Childhood Experience | | |
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For the first episode of Black History Month in February, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) released an episode of their “Hope Starts With Us” podcast on Racism as an Adverse Childhood Experience. The podcast featured Dr. Roy Wade Jr, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and General Pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Cobbs Creek Primary Care, and Dr. Mikah Owen, Co-Principal Investigator of UCAAN, the organization that implements the ACEs Aware initiative on behalf of the California Department of Health Care Services and the Office of the California Surgeon General (CA-OSG).
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Drs. Wade and Owen engaged in a powerful conversation with NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr. about the long-term mental and physical health effects of racism, and what we can do on an individual and societal level to address ACEs and the symptoms of toxic stress. They discussed the ACEs Aware initiative, real-life examples of the health impacts of ACEs, and strategies for mitigating toxic stress and fostering resilience, such as Stress Busters. | |
RAND Survey Indicates Need to Increase Education about the Potential Health Impacts of ACEs | |
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A new survey conducted by RAND sheds light on Californians’ understanding and awareness of ACEs and their potential health impacts. The survey was conducted to help inform CA-OSG’s ACEs and Toxic Stress Healing-Centered Campaign.
One of the survey findings is that despite 60% of respondents having experienced at least one ACE, and 23% of youth and 30% of parents and caregivers experiencing four or more ACEs, only 12% of youth and 10% of caregivers have heard of the term ACEs and know what the acronym stands for.
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The ACEs campaign, which is expected to fully launch in May 2024, is aimed at increasing awareness of the negative health and social impacts of ACEs and providing support and healing strategies for individuals and communities across the state. The campaign is one of the first to focus on reaching youth and young adults ages 16-25.
As part of the build-up to the launch of the ACEs Campaign, CA-OSG recently published a video that includes the perspectives of several youth who are advising the initiative. These young people also serve on the ACEs Aware Youth and Young Adult Advisory Council.
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Learn the Essentials of ACEs Billing | |
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On March 28, ACEs Aware will host the next webinar in our Implementation with Intention series, ACEs Billing Essentials: A Tactical Approach. It will explore the fundamentals of billing and reimbursement for ACE screening, such as the billing cycle of an ACE screen and clinical response, and key steps to building a billing workflow.
If you’re a health care administrator or manage billing in a clinic that has implemented, or plans to implement, ACE screening, join us to learn how to align your financial practices with prevention, screening, and treatment of ACEs and toxic stress. Registration is now live.
To be notified when registration goes live for future webinars in the series, sign in or create an account on the ACEs Aware Learning Center, navigate to the Implementation with Intention series and click the “subscribe” button.
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Events, Resources, and Research | | |
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Upcoming ACEs Aware Webinars
March 14, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Science and Innovation Speaker Series: Standardized Patient Cases on Trauma and Resilience for Pediatric Residents
M. Cooper Lloyd, MD, MPH
Jaime La Charite, MD, MPH
Register →
March 28, 12 – 1 pm
Implementation with Intention: ACEs Billing Essentials: A Tactical Approach
Nina Thompson
Jamie Ruiz
Register →
April 11, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Science and Innovation Speaker Series: Biological Burden of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Children
Rosemarie de la Rosa, PhD, MPH
(Registration coming soon)
ACEs Aware Webinars on Demand
We provide continuing education credit for our live webinars as well as for the on-demand versions that are posted a few weeks after the live sessions. Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to access past webinar trainings.
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How to Prepare for the Start and End of Daylight Savings Time
January 2024 | Sleep Foundation
Access →
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Sleep Regularity Is a Stronger Predictor of Mortality Risk than Sleep Duration
January 2024 | Sleep
Emerging research demonstrates that sleep regularity, the day-to-day consistency of sleep–wake timing, can be a stronger predictor for some health outcomes than sleep duration.
Read→
Childhood Relationships, Experiences May Have Good and Bad Effects on Adult Heart Health
January 2024 | American Heart Association
Positive, warm relationships between caregiver and child were associated with higher odds of attaining ideal heart health at multiple points across a 20-year span of adulthood.
Read→
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Ready to Become ACEs Aware?
The Becoming ACEs Aware in California training is a free, two-hour, online course that covers ACEs, toxic stress, ACE screening, toxic stress risk assessment, and trauma-informed care and provides health care teams evidence-based strategies to mitigate the toxic stress response. Qualified Medi-Cal providers are eligible for a $29 payment for qualifying ACE screenings for pediatric and adult patients (up to age 65) with full scope Medi-Cal. The training offers between 2.0 and 5.0 Continuing Education and Maintenance of Certification credits depending on the number of cases completed. Providers who intend to receive Medi-Cal payment for ACE screenings must complete the training and provide their National Provider Identifier (NPI) information as part of the training evaluation. Certified clinicians are encouraged to join the ACEs Aware Clinician Directory.
Visit the ACEs Aware Learning Center to take the Becoming ACEs Aware in California training today.
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