title: The development of a model of psychological first aid for non-mental health trained public health personnel: the Johns Hopkins RAPID-PFA.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness, which houses the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, has been addressing the challenge of disaster-caused behavioral health surge by conducting training programs in psychological first aid (PFA) for public health professionals. This report describes our approach, named RAPID-PFA, and summarizes training evaluation data to determine if relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes are imparted to trainees to support effective PFA delivery.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  In the wake of disasters, there is an increase in psychological distress and dysfunction among survivors and first responders. To meet the challenges posed by this surge, a professional workforce trained in PFA is imperative.
  
  
  METHODS
  More than 1500 participants received a 1-day RAPID-PFA training. Pre-/postassessments were conducted to measure (a) required knowledge to apply PFA; (b) perceived self-efficacy, that is, belief in one's own ability, to apply PFA techniques; and (c) confidence in one's own resilience in a crisis context. Statistical techniques were used to validate the extent to which the survey successfully measured individual PFA constructs, that is, unidimensionality, and to quantify the reliability of the assessment tool.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Statistically significant pre-/postimprovements were observed in (a) knowledge items supportive of PFA delivery, (b) perceived self-efficacy to apply PFA interventions, and (c) confidence about being a resilient PFA provider. Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.90 suggested that the self-reported measures possessed sufficient internal consistency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings were consistent with our pilot work, and with our complementary research initiatives validating a variant of RAPID-PFA with faith communities.
  The RAPID-PFA model promises to be a broadly applicable approach to extending community behavioral health surge capacity. Relevant next steps include evaluating the effectiveness of trained providers in real crisis situations, and determining if PFA training may have potential beyond the disaster context.
authors: Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness (Drs Everly, Links, and Ms Semon), Department of Mental Health (Dr McCabe), Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Drs Everly and McCabe), Johns Hopkins Biostatistics Center (Ms Thompson), and Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Ms Semon and Dr Links), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors: George S
authors: GS
authors: Everly
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Lee McCabe
authors: Natalie L
authors: NL
authors: Semon
authors: Carol B
authors: CB
authors: Thompson
authors: Jonathan M
authors: JM
authors: Links
mesh_terms: D004190:Disasters; D060731:Emergency Responders / Q000523:psychology*; D005392:First Aid; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055500:Resilience, Psychological