Elisa Veiga and Mariana Negrão attended ISPCAN 2024, where they organised a symposium on trauma-sensitive care in childhood, highlighting the importance of a trauma-focused approach to protecting vulnerable children.
The researchers from the Research Centre for Human Development (CEDH) and professors from the Faculty of Education and Psychology (FEP-UCP) attended the ISPCAN - Congress of the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse & Neglect in Uppsala, Sweden. The event, which brought together more than 900 experts from 73 countries, addressed key issues related to the protection of children in times of crisis.
A focus on trauma-sensitive care
The duo of Portuguese researchers organised a symposium on “Trauma sensitive care: a framework to context evaluation and change towards children rights and resilient communities”. The presentations highlighted the importance of a trauma-sensitive approach in different contexts where children live, such as schools and care institutions.
“By participating in the event, we wanted to highlight the importance of mainstreaming trauma-sensitive care into the various domains that intersect the lives of children in vulnerable situations, namely the education system, the protection system, the health system and the justice system", the researchers said.
One of the highlights of the symposium was the presentation of the Trauma Sensitive Care Evaluation Questionnaire developed by the team. This innovative tool makes it possible to assess the capacity of organisations to provide appropriate care for children who have experienced adversity and trauma, and to encourage reflection and guide the process of organisational change.
Research with social impact
Mariana Negrão and Elisa Veiga also presented the results of research conducted in Portugal on the evaluation and implementation of trauma-sensitive care in residential institutions and schools. These studies demonstrate the importance of training and supporting professionals and communities to provide more effective support to children who have experienced trauma.
The participation of researchers in ISPCAN 2024 will help to strengthen the position of Portugal and the CEDH in the research field of trauma-sensitive care.
