Measuring Trauma Workshop Summary (2016) / Chapter Skim
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5 Key Themes and Possible Next Steps
5 Key Themes and Possible Next Steps
Pages 51-60
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From page 51... ...
. It may be that people who experience potentially traumatic events and do not have PTSD symptoms instead have other symptoms.
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From page 52... ...
; see Chapter 4. Another way in which the field has changed is that there is a broader understanding of the types of traumatic events that may affect people, beyond personal traumas, which was highlighted in the presentation by Robert Ursano (Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences)
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From page 53... ...
Kilpatrick argued that for producing national estimates, a good household survey is what is needed, because that would capture most of the population. However, he added that SAMHSA also needs to devise a plan for collecting information about special populations, and for those data collections specialized surveys may be needed.
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From page 54... ...
In terms of SAMHSA's primary goal of measuring PTSD using DSM-5 criteria, Kilpatrick said that the discussions and experience of previous surveys suggest that this is feasible to do in population-based surveys. There are suitable approaches for screening for exposure to potentially traumatic events.
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From page 55... ...
She agreed with Merikangas that research that shows the pervasiveness of comorbidity highlights the need to understand how exposure to traumatic events contributes not only to PTSD, but also to other mental health issues, substance abuse, and risky behaviors. SAMHSA also wants to know why some people develop PTSD and other problems and other people do not, why some people develop more severe symptoms, and how resilience factors in.
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From page 56... ...
She commented that the workshop raised a number of issues that cut across multiple domains, including special populations, measuring trauma in children, and traumatic brain injury. Some of the questions raised are related to feasibility.
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From page 57... ...
SAMHSA would also like to better understand whether the short scales that might be available can be considered proxies for PTSD or for other outcomes of interest to the agency, such as other adverse health outcomes, increased substance use, or increased risk behaviors. Schaffer responded that to the extent one of the problems with the short scales is that they include variance that is due to such factors as depression or anxiety that originate from something other than a traumatic event, including these questions in a survey that already collects data on those other issues can help with beginning to partition the variance.
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From page 58... ...
Druss commented that if the goal is to understand life experiences and individual context in order to gain a synthesized view that is similar to the social determinants of health, then perhaps the focus should not be on PTSD, which is an extreme and specific case. Keane noted that he used to think that the adverse health outcomes associated with PTSD were secondary to risky behaviors, unhealthy behaviors, and addictions.
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From page 59... ...
Keane said that given the prevalence of the problems, this new research indicates the possibility of a very serious public health problem and also helps provide a better picture of what may be most effective in terms of services provided to returning veterans and others with PTSD. Kilpatrick asked Keane to clarify whether he believes that this supports the argument of measuring PTSD.
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From page 60... ...
However, he agreed that adequately measuring the events would have to go beyond just asking the person whether they experienced any of the events on a list. He added that national surveys, such as the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, measured exposure to a broad range of traumatic events with follow-up questions to capture specific characteristics of the events.
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