An estimated 64 per cent of adults in Canada report experiencing at least one potentially psychologically traumatic event during their lifetime, and in the United States, research suggests the figure may be closer to 90 per cent.

Trauma-informed care (TIC) is a holistic approach to health care that acknowledges the potential impact of patients’ experiences of trauma and actively aims to prevent exacerbating or causing new trauma in the medical setting.

Importantly, this can lead to more positive experiences and improved health outcomes for patients who may otherwise avoid or reluctantly show up for treatments and preventive screening, which is especially critical for cervical cancer. It offers benefits for providers, too.

However, TIC is not yet standardized in pelvic medicine in Canada or the U.S., and practice varies significantly by profession. This is why my co-authors Lauren Walker, an adjunct associate professor in the departments of oncology and psychology at the University of Calgary, and Krystyna Holland, a pelvic floor physical therapist operating out of Denver, Colorado, are developing a new clinical practice tool to bring TIC into pelvic health care.

They first assembled a multidisciplinary team representing obstetrics and gynecology, urology, urogynecology, midwifery, labour and delivery, pelvic floor physical therapy, oncology, family medicine and sexual assault response practitioners to advise on clinical recommendations.

Through patient interviews, they identified examples of positive and negative pelvic health care experiences. Positive........

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