Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples of ACEs include experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home or community; having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Other aspects of a child’s environment that can have in impact on their sense of safety, stability, and bonding are also considered ACEs. This includes growing up in a household with substance misuse, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or household members being in jail or prison.
ACEs are linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance misuse in adulthood. ACEs can also negatively impact education and job opportunities.
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to ACEs, the concept of resilience, and to reflect on the impact these have on public health and the nurse’s role.
Reference: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/index.html (Links to an external site.)
WATCH: Watch the following TED talk about ACEs.
Additional Videos available at the KPJR website (Links to an external site.) to help understand ACEs and Resiliency:
Video 1: ACEs Primer
Video 2: What is Resilience?
Video 3: This video requires a password- you do not need to watch it
Video 4: How To Prevent Caregiver Burnout
EXPLORE: Explore this website (https://www.traumainformedcare.chcs.org/what-is-trauma-informed-care/) to learn a little more about Trauma Informed Care. Watch the short video at the top of the page, and then review some of the content.
READ: Choose 2 of the following articles to read.
Adverse Childhood Experiences and Implementing Trauma-Informed Primary Care download
**I highly recommend reading this article first because it gives the best overview of the ACEs AND talks about interventions from a nursing perspective.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Their Impact On Substance Misuse & Overall Health download
Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, High Risk Behaviors, and Morbidity in Adulthood download
Trauma and Early Adolescent Development: Case Examples from a Trauma-Informed Public Health Middle School Program download
The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing the Adverse Effects of Childhood Stress and Trauma
WRITE: A 3-4 page reflection in APA format (title page, double spaced, 1 inch margins, professional language, reference page) using the following prompts/questions to guide your writing:
What did you learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)?
What is a health or social issue you discovered in the articles that you were surprised tied back to Adverse Childhood Experiences and other toxic stressors?
What does resilience mean to you?
What strategies or methods are helpful to build resilience in everyday life when facing adversity?
What supports or community resources can nurses provide to build resilience in in our patients and strengthen families?
How do we let people know that everyone needs help sometimes and it’s okay to ask for help?
What are potential barriers to implementing these strategies as a nurse? How might you work around them?
What are you going to do now that you know this information?
Anything else regarding ACEs, resilience, or public health that you feel compelled to address after watching the TED talk and reading the articles.
Remember to format your paper using APA, 7th edition formatting guidelines (This includes a title page, body of paper, reference page, in-text citations, etc. Abstract is not needed for this paper.) Cite your sources in the body of your paper and include on your reference page. You are not limited to the articles listed above for this paper.
Resources for APA formatting: APA Style and Grammar Guidelines, APA Style Bolg and Purdue OWL APA Resources.
Example paper in APA formatting with tips and info throughout. Please note this is a general example, you likely won’t need all of the levels of headings demonstrated in this example.
Note: Turn It In is enabled for this assignment. This means your paper will be checked for similarity to other sources.
