Increasing awareness of adverse childhood experiences in nurse practitioner students

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are reported in most children, and significant ACEs are associated with neurological changes and chronic conditions. Despite this, routine screening for early identification and intervention is rare. To increase screening frequency, education for providers including nurse practitioners is critical. This project provided asynchronous education on ACEs for family nurse practitioner (FNP) students with preeducation and posteducation survey links. The survey items focused on three key areas: knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs). T-tests were run to determine improvements in knowledge and skills questions and for Likert scale ratings on the attitude questions. Statistical significance was found in skills questions and in knowledge questions for one implementation site, and overall increases were seen in all areas from preeducation to posteducation results. This improvement in KSAs toward ACEs for FNP students showed that increased knowledge and understanding of skills also increased the reported willingness to screen patients in primary care to improve overall health outcomes.