Herb Kuhn’s February 2, 2017 commentary in the St. Louis Business Journal, Addressing childhood trauma to improve quality of life, discusses the importance of identifying both home- and community-based risks for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The damage caused by childhood abuse and neglect or toxic stress can affect physical and emotional health throughout one’s life and can even result in early mortality.
Kuhn’s commentary highlights a model developed by the Missouri Hospital Association’s Hospital Industry Data Institute that helps hospitals identify ACE risk at the ZIP-code level. It also shares results of a risk analysis showing how high-risk ZIP codes are dispersed throughout the state. St. Louis-area hospitals are using the data collected in a collaboration with Alive and Well STL to address the determinants of health and economic disparities in these communities. “The goal is to accelerate the understanding of the science of toxic stress and trauma and adopt practices that can mitigate the impact for St. Louisans.”