The silent epidemic: Childhood trauma as a Public Health crisis
1
Occupational Therapy, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A2551
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Since Felitti et al.’s (1998) landmark study on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), growing evidence has demonstrated that exposure to adversity in childhood has long-term detrimental effects on health across the lifespan. Prolonged exposure to stress disrupts neurodevelopment and alters autonomic nervous system functioning, contributing to behavioural difficulties, addictions, mental illnesses, autoimmune conditions, and even cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. Despite these strong epidemiological and neurobiological links, trauma remains an under-recognised driver of illness and dysfunction in public health systems—particularly in low-resource settings where adversity is pervasive and clinical pathways remain pathology-centric. To move toward equity and sustainable wellbeing, there is a need to reorient health practice toward trauma-informed, holistic, and contextually sensitive approaches that expand people’s real opportunities for participation, connection, and functioning.
METHODS:
This interactive 1-hour workshop integrates trauma science, social justice principles, and the Capabilities Approach to build public health practitioners’ conceptual understanding and practical competence. Through brief teaching inputs, case studies from low-resource contexts, and small group discussions, participants explore trauma’s mechanisms, impacts, and implications for public health practice. The workshop foregrounds feasible trauma-informed strategies that can be implemented even within constrained systems.
RESULTS:
Participants will: 1. Understand ACEs and their contribution to the global burden of disease. 2. Recognise the neurophysiological impact of trauma and the role of self-regulation in healing. 3. Reorient care from a biomedical, pathology-centred model toward a capabilities-based, trauma-informed approach. 4. Generate practical ideas for integrating trauma-informed principles within their own practice settings.
CONCLUSIONS:
Reframing childhood trauma as a core public health concern enables more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to wellbeing. This workshop equips practitioners with foundational knowledge and feasible strategies to advance health for communities experiencing profound adversity.
Since Felitti et al.’s (1998) landmark study on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), growing evidence has demonstrated that exposure to adversity in childhood has long-term detrimental effects on health across the lifespan. Prolonged exposure to stress disrupts neurodevelopment and alters autonomic nervous system functioning, contributing to behavioural difficulties, addictions, mental illnesses, autoimmune conditions, and even cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. Despite these strong epidemiological and neurobiological links, trauma remains an under-recognised driver of illness and dysfunction in public health systems—particularly in low-resource settings where adversity is pervasive and clinical pathways remain pathology-centric. To move toward equity and sustainable wellbeing, there is a need to reorient health practice toward trauma-informed, holistic, and contextually sensitive approaches that expand people’s real opportunities for participation, connection, and functioning.
METHODS:
This interactive 1-hour workshop integrates trauma science, social justice principles, and the Capabilities Approach to build public health practitioners’ conceptual understanding and practical competence. Through brief teaching inputs, case studies from low-resource contexts, and small group discussions, participants explore trauma’s mechanisms, impacts, and implications for public health practice. The workshop foregrounds feasible trauma-informed strategies that can be implemented even within constrained systems.
RESULTS:
Participants will: 1. Understand ACEs and their contribution to the global burden of disease. 2. Recognise the neurophysiological impact of trauma and the role of self-regulation in healing. 3. Reorient care from a biomedical, pathology-centred model toward a capabilities-based, trauma-informed approach. 4. Generate practical ideas for integrating trauma-informed principles within their own practice settings.
CONCLUSIONS:
Reframing childhood trauma as a core public health concern enables more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable approaches to wellbeing. This workshop equips practitioners with foundational knowledge and feasible strategies to advance health for communities experiencing profound adversity.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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