Citation

Allen B, Brymer MJ, Steinberg AM, Vernberg EM, Jacobs A, Speier AH, Pynoos RS. J. Trauma. Stress 2010; 23(4): 509-513.

Affiliation

University of California, Los Angeles.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20539

PMID

20623598

Abstract

Psychological First Aid (PFA), developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, has been widely disseminated both nationally and internationally, and adopted and used by a number of disaster response organizations and agencies after major catastrophic events across the United States. This study represents a first examination of the perceptions of providers who utilized PFA in response to a disaster. Study participants included 50 individuals who utilized PFA in their response to Hurricane Gustav or Ike. Findings indicated that participation in PFA training was perceived to increase confidence in working with adults and children. PFA was not seen as harmful to survivors, and was perceived as an appropriate intervention for responding in the aftermath of hurricanes.

Language: en