Psychological first aid training goes online

2010 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Nasreen Lalani ◽  
Julie Drolet

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is becoming a universally accepted intervention in providing psychosocial support to individuals and families affected by trauma or disaster.  Our study aimed to measure the effectiveness of a didactic and simulation based Psychological First Aid (PFA) training program in Alberta, Canada.  Social work students, practitioners, and human service professionals from Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge were invited to attend the training.  A total of 90 participants attended the training at three different sites. A pre and post survey questionnaire was administered to all the participants before and after the training.  Findings showed that the training has significantly improved participants’ PFA knowledge and perceived competence in PFA skill.  PFA training enhanced their confidence, disaster preparedness, and self-care strategies needed to provide psychosocial support to individuals and families in disaster situations. Our study provides preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of the PFA training program among social work students, practitioners and human service professionals for future disaster preparedness in Alberta, Canada.Keywords: Psychological first aid, social work, disaster preparedness, training, competency, effectiveness, Canada


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. S175-S176
Author(s):  
Karla Vermeulen ◽  
Gus Birkhead ◽  
Mary Riley-Jacome ◽  
Rebecca Rodriguez ◽  
Brian Fisher ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyla Akoury-Dirani ◽  
Tina S. Sahakian ◽  
Fahed Y. Hassan ◽  
Ranya V. Hajjar ◽  
Khalil El Asmar

Author(s):  
Hiroki Asaoka ◽  
Yuichi Koido ◽  
Yuzuru Kawashima ◽  
Miki Ikeda ◽  
Yuki Miyamoto ◽  
...  

This study aimed to compare longitudinal change of the psychological distress of a group with psychological first aid (PFA) experience and a group without PFA experience among physicians and other healthcare professionals from before the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to during the pandemic. The baseline survey was conducted in January 2020 (T1). The respondents in T1 were invited to participate in March (T2) and November 2020 (T3). Psychological distress was assessed by the Kessler 6 Scale. Participants were divided into two categories: a group with and a group without PFA experience. Participants were further divided between physicians and healthcare professionals other than physicians, because physicians are more likely to experience morally injurious events. A mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted as an indicator of the group differences. In T1, 398 healthcare professionals participated. The longitudinal analysis of healthcare professionals other than physicians showed that psychological distress was significantly greater in the group without PFA experience than in the group with PFA experience (T1 vs. T3). This study showed psychological distress among healthcare professionals other than physicians was significantly greater in the group without PFA experience than in the group with PFA experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the results were not consistent among physicians.


Author(s):  
Ling Wang ◽  
Ian Norman ◽  
Tao Xiao ◽  
Yamin Li ◽  
Mary Leamy

Worldwide commitment to disseminate Psychological First Aid (PFA) training to enable frontline workers to support distressed individuals and/or manage their own self-care is increasing, but the evidence base of PFA training is uncertain. Method: a scoping review was undertaken by searching seven databases and hand-searching grey literature to maximise coverage of potential studies. Results: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Three PFA training models were commonly used in research studies. A broad selection of PFA training outcomes were observed including learning, behavior, satisfaction and practice in crisis mental and behavior health preparedness. Conclusions: Research evidence of reasonable quality demonstrates that PFA training significantly improves knowledge of appropriate psychosocial response and PFA skills in supporting people in acute distress, thereby enhancing self-efficacy and promoting resilience. However, this review highlights inadequate guidance on how PFA training should be applied and adapted, significant shortcomings of reporting PFA training delivery, limited training evaluation and unclear training outcomes. Whilst behavioral, knowledge and system impact of the PFA training are promising, methodologically stronger evaluations which include systematic training adaptation and selection of sensitive outcome measures is needed to strengthen future implementation of PFA training and thereby enhance population preparedness for future emergencies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 533-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyla Akoury-Dirani ◽  
Tina S. Sahakian ◽  
Fahed Y. Hassan ◽  
Ranya V. Hajjar ◽  
Khalil El Asmar

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