Identifying and responding to the trauma of maltreated children

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of screening for and treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for children who have suffered child maltreatment, through:
- developing and piloting a process for training front line workers within a large NGO how to screen for the symptoms of PTSD in all maltreated children initially referred for specialist family support to a specific family support service
- evaluating the comprehensiveness and accuracy of the screening for PTSD by front line workers
- conducting a pragmatic randomised control trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) in addressing the symptoms of PTSD in both the short and long term for maltreated children identified through the universal screening process, as compared to care as usual
- conducting a parallel process evaluation to better understand how children’s needs are more accurately assessed in relation to the impact of maltreatment, and the acceptability, retention and recruitment of children to a TF-CBT programme of intervention
- undertaking an economic appraisal to determine the cost effectiveness of PTSD screening and TF-CBT as an intervention for maltreated children