Nursing Assessment & Interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Page reviewed and updated: August 2024
Post-traumatic stress disorder can occur in any individual who has experienced a traumatic event. Signs and symptoms may be difficult to recognize, but as nurses, we can use critical thinking to assess patients at risk. We are positioned to make an impact by identifying patients and advocating for treatment. The resources below are available to help nurses successfully recognize and manage PTSD in patients and ourselves. You’ll also find content related to specific traumatic events that can contribute to PTSD. Make sure you’re familiar with these issues and how they impact the care you provide.
Nursing Assessment for PTSD
Posttraumatic stress disorder can occur after someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, such as physical or sexual assault, an accident, war, natural disaster, or unexpected death of a loved one. Feelings of fear, shock, anger, anxiety, and guilt are prolonged and interfere with the ability to function socially, at work, and in relationships. For diagnosis, the person must be experiencing a certain number of symptoms in four specific categories: re-experiencing; avoidance; persistent negative alterations in cognitions and mood; and alterations in arousal and activity.
POCKET CARD Pocket Card: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Lippincott
® NursingCenter
®
Depression and PTSD as Predictors of Attrition in Older Adult Exercise Programs: A Systematic Review
Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, January/March 2023
Feasibility of Risk Factor-Based Screening for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Trauma
Journal of Trauma Nursing, January/February 2023
CE Association of Gender, Race, Mechanism of Injury on Alcohol Use, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Depression in Trauma
Journal of Trauma Nursing, September/October 2022
Recognizing Childbirth-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
The Nurse Practitioner, September 2022
Four Questions Nurses Can Ask to Predict PTSD 1 Year After a Motor Vehicle Crash
Journal of Trauma Nursing, March/April 2022
Acute Traumatic Stress Screening Can Identify Patients and Their Partners at Risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms After a Cardiac Arrest: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study
Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, July/August 2022
Screening of Acute Traumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Pediatric Trauma Patients: A Pilot Study
Journal of Trauma Nursing, July/August 2021
Interventions for PTSD
Treatment of PTSD involves psychotherapy, medication, or both. Learn about the various types of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapies and medications used as first-line treatments, as well as other medications and supplemental therapies used to augment treatment or help manage specific symptoms.
The Effect of Intensive Care Unit Diaries on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Anxiety, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, September/October 2022
The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Posttraumatic Stress of Mothers with Premature Neonates Admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Holistic Nursing Practice, May/June 2022
PTSD and Nurses
Anyone can develop PTSD, including families of victims, emergency personnel and rescue workers, and children. Learn about secondary-traumatic stress and PTSD in nurses, and be able to recognize the symptoms in yourself and your colleagues.
Impact of COVID-19 on Nursing Students: Factors Associated with PTSD Risk
Journal of Christian Nursing, October/December 2022
COVID-19 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Clinical Nurse Specialists
Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice, July/August 2022
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Nurses During a Pandemic: Implications for Nurse Leaders
JONA: Journal of Nursing Administration, February 2022
Gun Violence & PTSD
There have been over 600 mass casualty events in 2022 as a result of gun violence, and the number of persons directly and indirectly affected is immeasurable. What can we, as nurses, do about gun violence?
The Crumbley Convictions: Parental Accountability and Policy Implications for Preventing Gun Violence
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, September/October 2024
An Academic-Community Partnership to Address Gun Violence in the Roseland Neighborhood of Chicago
Family & Community Health, April/June 2024
Beyond Stricter Gun Control Measures: Lessons From the Nashville Shooting
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, September/October 2023
Gun Violence and Risk to Children and Youth in the United States
MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, May/June 2023
Gun-Related Deaths Continue to Rise
AJN, American Journal of Nursing, September 2023
Speak Out Against Gun Violence – This Is Our Lane #Thisisourlane
Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, September/October 2022
Gun Violence: The Carnage at Home
AJN, American Journal of Nursing, August 2022
Domestic Violence & PTSD
As with other traumatic events, victims and witnesses of domestic violence can suffer lasting effects and develop PTSD. Learn about screening programs, risk factors, approaching the topic, and appropriate interventions.
Escaping the Closed World of Intimate Partner Violence
AJN, American Journal of Nursing, August 2024
The Role of the Pediatric Nurse in Intimate Partner Violence
MCN, The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing, January/February 2024
Emergency Department Presentations of Strangulation in Intimate Partner Violence Relationships: A Case Report
Journal of Forensic Nursing, July/September 2023
Intimate Partner Violence: A Clinical Update
The Nurse Practitioner, September 2023
CE Intimate Partner Violence: Warning Signs and Interventions
Nursing Made Incredibly Easy!, May/June 2023
Veterans & PTSD
PTSD is a significant mental health disorder among veterans. Review the relevance of PTSD in the veteran population along with known barriers to care, common concomitant conditions, evidence-based treatment options, and the role of the nurse in identifying and treating veterans with PTSD.
Identifying Unique Symptom Groups Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Using the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory and PTSD Checklist-5 in Military Personnel: A Bifactor Analysis
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, November/December 2023
Discriminating Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Using Latent Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Profiles in Active-Duty Military Service Members
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, July/August 2023
Latent Neuropsychological Profiles to Discriminate Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Active-Duty Service Members
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, October 2022
Implementation of a Mobile Technology-Supported Diaphragmatic Breathing Intervention in Military mTBI with PTSD
Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, May/June 2022