Psychological challenges & wellbeing | Psychological trauma

Trauma-informed palliative care: A systematic scoping review of evidence sources describing concepts relevant to an emerging field of practice

Published: Mar 2026

Authors

Rebecca Salama, Jane Simpson, Fiona J. R. Eccles, Maddy French

Abstract

Background: Trauma-informed palliative care aims to improve end-of-life experiences by recognising and responding to the presence of psychological trauma. While many practitioners support the approach, they also acknowledge the need to build a stronger evidence base.

Aim: To: (1) understand the methodology and defining features of existing research; (2) describe how the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life is understood; and (3) describe the nature of, and challenges to, palliative care approaches that recognise and respond to such trauma.

Design: A systematic scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. The review protocol was registered on Open Science Framework.

Data sources: Eight electronic databases were systematically searched; evidence sources that considered psychological trauma in an end-of-life context were included.

Results: Ninety-nine sources (13 countries) were identified. 40% were clinical case studies. Cancer was the primary diagnosis for the majority of patients in 55 sources and 24 sources focussed on veterans. Six ways of describing the impact of psychological trauma at the end-of-life were identified. Few sources (n = 20) implemented trauma-informed care; 15 of these were clinical case studies. Though trauma-informed palliative care was not always explicitly present, six palliative care approaches to recognising and responding to psychological trauma, and five main challenges to its effective implementation, were identified.

Conclusions: Limited research has been conducted on trauma-informed palliative care. However, the review identified a substantial body of evidence that describes concepts relevant to its approach. These findings provide a valuable starting point for future research.

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Web link: https://doi.org/10.1177/02692163261425837