Exploring Opportunities to Optimize Stress and Trauma-Focused Primary Care with Low-Income Midlife and Older Women

Trauma and trauma-related symptoms often remain hidden in the lives of low-income midlife and older women. In primary care encounters, midlife and older women are infrequently asked about trauma histories, and symptoms of trauma are commonly misinterpreted. As stress and trauma raise risk morbidity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of health care for the poor and underserved Vol. 33; no. 4; pp. 1721 - 1735
Main Authors Dickins, Kirsten A, Malley, Ann, Bartels, Stephen J, Baggett, Travis P, Looby, Sara E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.11.2022
Subjects
Content analysis
Fairness
Health behavior
Health care
Health disparities
Health promotion
Health services
Homeless people
Income
Interviews
Low income groups
Marginality
Medical screening
Middle age
Midlife
Morbidity
Older people
Older women
Post traumatic stress disorder
Preventive medicine
Primary care
Psychological trauma
Qualitative analysis
Qualitative research
Sociodemographics
Stress
Symptoms
Trauma
Vulnerability
Women
United States > US
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Summary:Trauma and trauma-related symptoms often remain hidden in the lives of low-income midlife and older women. In primary care encounters, midlife and older women are infrequently asked about trauma histories, and symptoms of trauma are commonly misinterpreted. As stress and trauma raise risk morbidity and mortality, under-recognition of trauma is a health equity issue. This secondary qualitative analysis explores stress and trauma as factors that affect primary/preventive care engagement in low-income midlife and older women. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 22 low-income midlife and older women from December 2020–January 2021. A deductive-inductive content analysis approach was guided by the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations. Three categories were identified: (1) stress and competing demands; (2) history and impact of trauma; (3) integrated trauma-related behavioral health focus. Co-designing and culturally adapting stress and trauma screening and interventions may optimize stress and trauma-focused primary care while promoting health equity with socially marginalized women.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1049-2089
1548-6869
1548-6869
DOI:10.1353/hpu.2022.0133