The most recent iteration of the ISTSS member survey was developed and administered in late 2022. The goal of this survey was to assess ISTSS members’ perspectives on key issues of importance to the society, including but not limited to strategic plan-related goals, as well as perceptions around membership and the educational products that ISTSS develops.
Among survey respondents, ISTSS members’ perceptions regarding ISTSS performance conveyed satisfaction across the major priority areas of the society’s strategic plan and also suggested some potential areas for continued growth. Within the area of research and clinical excellence (strategic goal one), a vast majority of respondents (84-94%) endorsed that ISTSS effectively promotes excellence in research, clinical practice, and professional education and training. Although most respondents also endorsed ISTSS’s efforts in public health and policy as well as its use of communication channels, there is some room for improvement in these areas. Respondents also reported favorable perceptions (74-81%) in promoting innovation (strategic goal four).
ISTSS efforts around fostering a diverse and engaged organization (strategic goal two) yielded noteworthy improvements compared to 2020 with respect to the promotion of diversity and inclusion in the areas of race and ethnicity, cultural and geographic, as well as gender (70-75%). Although some improvement has been made since 2020, there is still room for growth regarding the promotion of diversity and inclusion around sexual orientation. Additionally, despite the majority of respondents endorsing that ISTSS promotes diversity and inclusion regarding professional and academic disciplines, there is still room for improvement.
Regarding global impact (strategic goal three), all areas evaluated yielded slight improvements over 2020 and findings supported that most respondents were positive (75-83%) about the society’s global efforts related to traumatic stress. While relatively fewer respondents (63%) agreed that ISTSS is responsive to members and stakeholders from many different nations, this was an improvement since just two years prior.
This was our first member survey to assess member perspectives on educational products specifically. Respondents’ top preferences for types of products they would like to see more of included research briefs and webinars with the next most popular being videos, website resources, factsheets and lastly podcasts. We also elicited qualitative feedback on preferences for trauma-related topics to be covered in educational materials/content. Among the highest-order themes were trauma treatment, stress, complex trauma and racial trauma.
Additional open-ended questions were asked to elicit feedback on perceptions around what ISTSS is doing well in addition to growth areas. Respondents provided much positive feedback regarding the society’s educational products, and the degree to which ISTSS promotes research excellence, a diverse and engaged organization, and global impact, and the high quality of the annual meeting was frequently mentioned. One potential area we noted for improvement was that although most respondents perceive the cost of membership to be a good value relative to the benefits, a substantial proportion of members were not aware of some or all of the society’s membership benefits, suggesting that additional efforts to communicate benefits to members would be helpful.
We thank the members who completed the 2022 Member Survey and provide a summary of results here.
