Dr. Vincent Felitti, father of the seminal Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) study that has informed so much of State of Opportunity’s reporting and recently this NPR series, was recently in Michigan for a conference on how adverse childhood experiences affect health. Fewer than 50 people showed up to hear him speak, and only five of them were doctors. That this number thrilled Dr. Tina Hahn – an Alpena pediatrician who coordinated Felitti’s visit – has less to say about the importance of Felitti's work and more to say about how behind the ball Michigan is in recognizing that.
Hahn says it’s been an uphill battle to get people, especially doctors, to recognize the connection between trauma and health. Other Midwestern states (Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, to name a few) began surveying people for ACEs many years ago, while Michigan just started. Michigan's doctors aren't alone in questioning this approach to medicine.
A refresher: ACEs are "adverse childhood experiences." Things like child abuse, living with a parent who has a mental illness, and being separated from a parent. High ACE scores have an incredible impact on a person's health, an impact that Felitti says is "hard to believe." The ACE study found that someone with an ACE score of 6 or higher, for example, is 46 times more likely to become an intravenous drug user than someone without that score.
Hahn is one physician who believes in the power of ACE. She's been using the ACE survey in her practice for seven years and sees it as part of her job. “As a pediatrician, I don’t just prevent infectious diseases by giving vaccines," she says. "I also prevent the negative health outcomes of ACEs by educating parents about the effects of adverse childhood experiences.”
For more on this article by By BRITTANY BARTKOWIAK, see the following Link: http://stateofopportunity.mich...ublic-health-problem
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