First Aid (first + aid)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of First Aid

  • psychological first aid


  • Selected Abstracts


    Mental Health First Aid: an international programme for early intervention

    EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2008
    Betty A. Kitchener
    Abtract Aim: To describe the development of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme in Australia, its roll-out in other countries and evaluation studies which have been carried out. Methods: A description of the programme's development and evaluation, its cultural adaptations and its dissemination in seven countries. Results: The programme was developed in Australia in 2001. By the end of 2007, there were 600 instructors and 55 000 people trained as mental health first aiders. A number of evaluations have been carried out, including two randomized controlled trials that showed changes in knowledge, attitudes and first aid behaviours. Special adaptations of the course have been rolled out for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and some non-English speaking immigrant groups. The course has spread to seven other countries with varying degrees of penetration. In all countries, the programme has been initially supported by government funding. Independent evaluations have been carried out in Scotland and Ireland. Conclusions: The concept of first aid by the public for physical health crises is familiar in many countries. This has made it relatively easy to extend this approach to early intervention by members of the public for mental disorders and crises. Through MHFA training, the whole of a community can assist formal mental health services in early intervention for mental disorders. [source]


    Perceptions of psychological first aid among providers responding to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike,

    JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 4 2010
    Brian Allen
    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. [source]


    Knowledge and Acceptance of First Aid and Travel Insurance in Hostelers from North and Central Queensland, Australia

    JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2002
    Peter A. Leggat
    First page of article [source]


    Development of 2-hour suicide intervention program among medical residents: First pilot trial

    PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 5 2010
    Takahiro A. Kato MD
    Aim:, Suicide is associated not only with primary psychiatric disorders but also with physical disorders. Physicians' education on suicide prevention contributes to reducing suicide. Therefore, medical residents, who contact patients daily and who eventually become primary physicians in each specialty, might be the most appropriate candidates for intervention. In this article, we introduce our newly developed suicide intervention program among medical residents. Methods:, We developed a 2-hour suicide intervention program among medical residents, based on the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), which had originally been developed for the public. The program contains a 1-hour lecture and a 1-hour role-play session. As the first pilot trial, we conducted the program among 44 first-year medical residents at a university hospital and evaluated its effectiveness. Changes in confidence, attitudes and behavior toward suicidal people were evaluated using self-reported questionnaires before, immediately after, and 6 months after the program. Results:, Participants' confidence and attitudes significantly improved after the program. The total mean score (standard deviation) of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory improved from 18.4 (2.0) before the intervention to 19.4 (2.0) immediately after the intervention. However, the effectiveness was limited after 6 months. In the course of 6 months, the participants learned to apply the MHFA principles in their daily clinical practice. Conclusion:, Our newly developed brief suicide intervention program demonstrating its effectiveness among medical residents should be modified in order to be more effective in the long term. The next trial with a control group ought to be conducted to evaluate our developed program. [source]


    Psychological First Aid: The Hallmark Company, Greeting Cards, and the Response to September 11

    THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE, Issue 1 2005
    Kathy Merlock Jackson
    First page of article [source]


    Retrospective clinical study of 90 avulsed permanent teeth in 58 children

    DENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 6 2008
    Vasileios Tzigkounakis
    We analyzed the documentations of a sample of patients containing 57 children who had a total of 90 avulsed teeth and were treated in Dentistry Department of Medical Faculty in Pilsen, Czech Republic, in the years between 1995 and 2005. We discovered that most frequently the children experience dental avulsion in the age between 8 and 11 years old, the most affected teeth are the upper central incisors and the most frequent causes are sports and games which are very common in these ages, in various environments, like schools, sport fields and home. The majority of the children were transferred to the Dentistry Department either quite long after the avulsion incident and without the avulsed teeth, or with the avulsed teeth which were carried in an inappropriate transport medium, indicating that there is insufficient knowledge of adult people, especially the ones who are in daily contact with children, on how to provide first aid in cases of dental avulsion. [source]


    Mental Health First Aid: an international programme for early intervention

    EARLY INTERVENTION IN PSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2008
    Betty A. Kitchener
    Abtract Aim: To describe the development of the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme in Australia, its roll-out in other countries and evaluation studies which have been carried out. Methods: A description of the programme's development and evaluation, its cultural adaptations and its dissemination in seven countries. Results: The programme was developed in Australia in 2001. By the end of 2007, there were 600 instructors and 55 000 people trained as mental health first aiders. A number of evaluations have been carried out, including two randomized controlled trials that showed changes in knowledge, attitudes and first aid behaviours. Special adaptations of the course have been rolled out for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and some non-English speaking immigrant groups. The course has spread to seven other countries with varying degrees of penetration. In all countries, the programme has been initially supported by government funding. Independent evaluations have been carried out in Scotland and Ireland. Conclusions: The concept of first aid by the public for physical health crises is familiar in many countries. This has made it relatively easy to extend this approach to early intervention by members of the public for mental disorders and crises. Through MHFA training, the whole of a community can assist formal mental health services in early intervention for mental disorders. [source]


    Adding confusion to first aid for jellyfish stings

    EMERGENCY MEDICINE AUSTRALASIA, Issue 2 2008
    Ian Jacobs
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    On the Future of Reanimatology,

    ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 1 2000
    Peter Safar MD
    Abstract: This article is adapted from a presentation given at the 1999 SAEM annual meeting by Dr. Peter Safar. Dr. Safar has been involved in resuscitation research for 44 years, and is a distinguished professor and past initiating chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the founder and director of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh, and has been the research mentor of many critical care and emergency medicine research fellows. Here he presents a brief history of past accomplishments, recent findings, and future potentials for resuscitation research. Additional advances in resuscitation, from acute terminal states and clinical death, will build upon the lessons learned from the history of reanimatology, including optimal delivery by emergency medical services of already documented cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation, basic-advanced,prolonged life support, and future scientific breakthroughs. Current controversies, such as how to best educate the public in life-supporting first aid, how to restore normotensive spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest, how to rapidly induce mild hypothermia for cerebral protection, and how to minimize secondary insult after cerebral ischemia, are discussed, and must be resolved if advances are to be made. Dr. Safar also summarizes future technologies already under preliminary investigation, such as ultra-advanced life support for reversing prolonged cardiac arrest, extending the "golden hour" of shock tolerance, and suspended animation for delayed resuscitation. [source]


    Avulsed permanent incisors: knowledge and attitudes of primary school teachers with regard to emergency management

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 5 2001
    C. Blakytny
    Summary. Objectives. This study was designed to examine the knowledge and attitudes of primary school teachers with regard to the emergency management of avulsed permanent incisors. Design. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire. Setting. The study was conducted in primary schools lying within a 2-mile radius of the University Dental Hospital, Cardiff. Sample and methods. A total of 388 teachers in 31 participating schools were asked to complete a questionnaire, which was subsequently collected by two of the authors (CS and AT). Results. Two hundred and seventy-four teachers returned completed questionnaires, a response rate of 70·6%. One hundred and eighty-one respondents (60·1%) had received no advice about the emergency management of dental avulsion. Of the 133 teachers (48·5%) who possessed a first aid certificate, 39 (29·3%) had been given relevant advice as part of this training. Less than one-third of respondents (85 (31%)) cited an optimum extra-oral time of 30 min or less, with only 43 (15·7%) considering that this should be 10 min or less. However, 125 (45·6%) knew milk to be the best transport medium. Two hundred and four teachers (74·5%) stated that they would not be prepared to replant an avulsed tooth themselves, 133 (80%) basing this decision on lack of expertise and training. Two hundred and sixty-two teachers (95·6%) expressed a desire for further information. Conclusions. The majority of respondents possessed, at best, rudimentary knowledge of the emergency management of dental avulsion. Teachers, and other individuals who supervise children in schools, should receive simple instruction in dental first aid. [source]


    Perceptions of psychological first aid among providers responding to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike,

    JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 4 2010
    Brian Allen
    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. [source]


    Elapid snake envenomation in dogs in New South Wales: a review

    AUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 11 2007
    J Heller
    Elapid snake envenomation in dogs is a commonly occurring yet poorly described clinical entity. Twelve species of dangerously venomous elapid snakes are found in New South Wales that are capable of causing disease in dogs. Geographical distribution of these species varies, as does their venom composition and systemic envenomation syndromes produced in target species. Elapid venom may be divided into the components of prothrombin activating enzymes, lipases and peptidic neurotoxins. Each species of elapid snake may possess venom components that fit any or all of these classifications. The action of these venom components may result in neurotoxic (pre-synaptic and post-synaptic), haemotoxic (red-cell destruction and coagulation disturbance), cardiovascular, myotoxic and secondary nephrotoxic effects. Marked variability may occur in venom composition between and within snake species, resulting in varying toxicity between species and also potentially unreliable clinical syndromes following envenomation. The existence of certain components consistently within the venom of each snake species allows the broad definition of basic pathological processes and clinicopathological changes resulting from snake species-specific envenomation and these are discussed. Diagnosis of snake envenomation is unreliable if based on clinical signs alone and the use of these signs in conjunction with history, physical examination and laboratory investigation, including snake venom detection kits, is recommended. Treatment of systemic envenomation should be undertaken with initial effective first aid and subsequent administration of snake species-specific antivenom. [source]


    Early Intervention for Trauma: Current Status and Future Directions

    CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2002
    Brett T. Litz
    Although psychological debriefing (PD) represents the most common form of early intervention for recently traumatized people, there is little evidence supporting its continued use with individuals who experience severe trauma. This review identifies the core issues in early intervention that need to be addressed in resolving the debate over PD. It critiques the available evidence for PD and the early provision of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Based on available evidence, we propose that psychological first aid is an appropriate initial intervention, but that it does not serve a therapeutic or preventive function. When feasible, initial screening is required so that preventive interventions can be used for those individuals who may have difficulty recovering on their own. Evidence-based CBT approaches are indicated for people who are at risk of developing posttraumatic psychopathology. Guidelines for managing acutely traumatized people are suggested and standards are proposed to direct future research that may advance our understanding of the role of early intervention in facilitating adaptation to trauma. [source]