Client and provider discomfort with an adverse childhood experiences survey

29 September 2020 3 mins read The Early Intervention Foundation Mental health Social Care Mental Health

The presumed causal relationship between ACEs and poor life outcomes has resulted in some policy and health organisations to advocate for ACE screening to be implemented universally so that vulnerable individuals can be offered treatment.

Evidence shows some ACE screening practices make vulnerable clients uncomfortable. - Picture: Adobe Stock/Lightfield Studios

Authors: JP Mersky, CTP Lee and RM Gilbert

Published by: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2019

Typically, ACE screening involves asking individuals to answer yes/no questions taken from the original ACE-study questionnaire that counts ACEs and generates an ACE score. This score is then used by frontline practitioners to initiate a conversation about the individual’s history of ACEs to explore whether further treatment might be helpful. In some cases, individuals are then made aware of their treatment options, although some believe that conversations about ACEs may be beneficial in their own right.

Universal ACE screening is increasingly being implemented in local areas in North America and the UK, although ACE screening practices have recently been criticised on the grounds that most screening tools have not been sufficiently validated and that reliable treatment protocols have yet to be established.

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