Learning Together: The Impact of a Trauma-Informed Leadership and Supervision Intervention

Background and Purpose: The community-based HIV workforce continues to be on the frontlines serving people impacted by HIV; however, few interventions are tailored to them, particularly in the US South where HIV disparities continue to rise (CDC, 2024). Building organizational leaders’ capacity around trauma-informed leadership continues to be an urgent need, particularly in the current socio-political context. Leading with Education, Advocacy & Resistance with our Neighbors (LEARN) Trauma-Informed Leadership and Supervision (TILS) is a shared learning community developed specifically for community-based HIV service organizations. The goals of LEARN TILS are to build individuals’ leadership capacity and support organizational transformation centered on trauma-informed care. The aims of this study are to 1) describe LEARN TILS, and 2) evaluate its impact on leaders’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Methods: LEARN TILS is a 6-month learning collaborative intervention that is informed by the six principles of trauma-informed care: Safety; Trust/Transparency; Collaboration; Peer Support; Empowerment, Voice, & Choice; and Historical, Gender, and Cultural Factors (SAMHSA, 2014). Southern HIV service organizations applied and some were selected to participate in LEARN TILS. LEARN TILS is implemented through bi-weekly virtual group sessions, virtual coaching sessions, a two-day in-person cohort training, and the implementation of a project. Participants completed a locally developed pre-test and post-test measuring knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA) related to TILS on a 10-point Likert scale. Paired sample t-tests were conducted for pre- and post-tests for the KSA subscales as well as the individual items from the three subscales.

Results: Twenty-four participants from 4 cohorts attended 12 bi-weekly virtual group sessions, 5 monthly individualized coaching sessions, and a 2-day in-person meeting over the course of the 6-month intervention. Organizations also received up to $30,000 to implement projects related to TILS. Participants identified as African American/Black (54%) and cis-gender women (42%), transgender (21%), and genderqueer (17%). Each subscale demonstrated statistically significant increases: Knowledge (MD = 3.36, p < .001), Skills (MD = 2.42, p < .001), Attitudes (MD = 1.20, p < .001). For individual items within each subscale, pre- and post-test data demonstrated significant increases in 6 of 6 Knowledge items, 6 of 7 Attitude items, and 9 of 9 Skills items.

Conclusions and Implications: The importance of supporting HIV service organization leaders and their organizational environments to incorporate trauma-informed practices cannot be understated, particularly for relevant social workers. This study found that LEARN TILS was effective in increasing knowledge and changing attitudes specific to leadership. This intervention represents a meaningful funding and training opportunity for HIV service organizations located in the US South, a region disproportionately impacted by HIV and other health inequities. This research provides preliminary evidence of an intervention that results in quantifiable change in trauma-informed leadership and supervision, furthering the real-world impacts of trauma-informed research strategies.