Traumatikk

Traumatikk is a multidisciplinary field that studies trauma in its medical, psychological, and social dimensions. In Norwegian and some Scandinavian languages, the term denotes trauma science and practice across clinical care, research, and prevention. The field integrates emergency medicine, surgery, neurology, rehabilitation, and mental health to understand and manage injuries and their consequences for individuals and systems.

In clinical trauma care, traumatikk covers the acute management of injuries sustained in accidents, violence, or disasters. Core concepts include rapid assessment, resuscitation, imaging, damage-control surgery, and multidisciplinary trauma teams. Public health aspects emphasize injury prevention, trauma systems, data collection, and quality improvement to reduce preventable deaths.

In psychotraumatikk, research focuses on mental health consequences of traumatic exposure, including acute stress reactions, PTSD, depression, and anxiety. It also studies resilience, coping strategies, and the effectiveness of therapies such as trauma-focused CBT and EMDR. Trauma-informed care seeks to minimize re-traumatization in healthcare, education, and social services.

Historically, traumatikk has evolved from battlefield medicine to organized trauma systems and evidence-based behaviorally informed therapies. Developments include standardized injury classification, resuscitation science, early rehabilitation, and integrated care pathways. Ongoing debates address ethics, consent, research with vulnerable populations, and the balance between individual and public health priorities.