Trauma-Informed Organizational Coordination in Clinical Computer Security

This paper investigates how to incorporate trauma-informed principles into organizational and coordination processes in a high-stakes context: computer security clinics for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV survivors often face complex technology-facilitated abuse and computer security clinics aim to assist by connecting survivors with trained experts who help them work toward digital safety. We analyze how clinics' referral processes constitute key sites for trauma-informed, inter-organizational coordination work, especially in light of stakeholders' asymmetrical knowledge of technology. Via semi-structured interviews, we uncover the potential for misalignment between survivors' needs and clinics' services, leading to potentially negative consequences for both survivors and clinic staff. We then design new referral and assessment tools that enable trauma-informed care and improve coordination by functioning as a guide for people seeking services and enabling clinic staff to determine if a survivor is a good fit for the services available. Finally, we show how the new tools improve coordination and outcomes by analyzing 97 referrals received by a clinic over a six month period. We close by discussing the role of structured communication mechanisms in trauma-informed inter-organizational coordination in high-stakes contexts.