Trauma-informed, integrated primary care: A medical home model for children with prenatal drug exposure who enter foster care

Abstract

The rise in prenatal or childhood substance exposure diagnoses resulting from parental substance use has led to an increase in the number of children placed in foster care. Meeting the multifaceted health care needs of children with prenatal drug exposure (PDE) who enter foster care requires significant time, resources, and coordination. In addition to conditions resulting from their experiences of trauma, children in foster care often have unmet health care needs and experience disproportionate rates of adverse physical, mental and developmental health outcomes. This article outlines the barriers to providing comprehensive and high-quality care to this pediatric population and describes a trauma-informed, integrated primary care medical home model as a promising strategy to address these barriers. It concludes with a description of the limitations of the model and considerations in the implementation of trauma-informed, integrated primary care as a healthcare delivery model for children with PDE who enter foster care.