As primary and acute care practitioners, staying up-to-date and exploring research topics is key for providing optimal care and advancing the profession. After conducting original studies, one of the best ways to exhibit and share findings with colleagues is by designing a poster presentation.
At the Fall 2016 National Conference for Nurse Practitioners (NCNP), held this past October in Chicago, we invited attendees to submit poster presentations that contained subject matter of interest to NPs in both the primary and acute care settings. We then invited attendees to vote on their favorite poster submission.
Our winner was Jana Esden, DNP, APNP, FNP-BC, for her poster titled, "Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Nurse Practitioners Can Help Break The Cycle of ACEs." Dr. Esden is a family NP and an assistant professor at Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Kentucky. In her clinical work, she partners with a community clinic to serve patients at a transitional housing complex in Northeast Wisconsin. Congratulations!
The deadline for poster submissions for the Spring 2017 NCNP in Nashville, April 19-22, is March 8. For more information, visit http://www.NCNPconference.com.
The abstract of Dr. Edsen's winning poster is presented below.
Poster abstract
Over half of the U.S. population has suffered at least one Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE), which includes various types of abuse and household dysfunction. Health literature has repeatedly linked ACEs with unfavorable adult health outcomes including mental illness, various chronic illnesses, disability, and early death. Toxic stress resulting from ACEs affects brain development in infants and young children and changes the architecture of the brain. These changes influence behavior, learning, and overall health. Toxic stress also affects the nervous system, hormone regulation, and even causes alterations in DNA.
In order to provide appropriate care to ACE survivors, it is important for NPs to be aware of the detrimental effects of ACEs on adult health. In addition, survivors of child maltreatment are more likely to maltreat their children, and NPs have a unique opportunity to break the cycle of ACEs with primary prevention strategies for ACE survivors, particularly adult patients with young children. NPs can screen adult patients for mental illness and ensure for proper treatment with medication and trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy. Additional primary prevention intervention examples include programs that provide in-home support and services for at-risk families. Secondary prevention strategies focus on early identification and intervention for children experiencing ACEs by pediatric or family NPs. Tertiary prevention strategies reduce the long-term consequences of ACEs. These strategies include the treatment of chronic disease and the stabilization of mental health disorders in adults who have endured adverse experiences as children.