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Establishing the Effectiveness of Interventions Provided to First Responders to Prevent and/or Treat Mental Health Effects of Response to a Disaster: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2020

W. Tyler Winders Open the ORCID record for W. Tyler Winders [Opens in a new window] ,
Nirma D. Bustamante ,
Stephanie Chow Garbern ,
Corey Bills Open the ORCID record for Corey Bills [Opens in a new window] ,
Amin Coker ,
Indi Trehan ,
Maxwell Osei-Ampofo  and
Adam C. Levine
W. Tyler Winders*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
Nirma D. Bustamante
Affiliation:
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Stephanie Chow Garbern
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Corey Bills
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California
Amin Coker
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine Directorate, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
Indi Trehan
Affiliation:
Lao Friends Hospital for Children, Luang Prabang, Lao, PDR Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
Maxwell Osei-Ampofo
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine Directorate, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
Adam C. Levine
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to W. Tyler Winders, Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 169 Ashley Ave., MSC 300, CharlestonSC29425 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objectives:

This review systematically explores the current available evidence on the effectiveness of interventions provided to first responders to prevent and/or treat the mental health effects of responding to a disaster.

Methods:

A systematic review of Medline, Scopus, PsycINFO, and gray literature was conducted. Studies describing the effectiveness of interventions provided to first responders to prevent and/or treat the mental health effects of responding to a disaster were included. Quality was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria, and the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist.

Results:

Manuscripts totaling 3869 met the initial search criteria; 25 studies met the criteria for in-depth analysis, including 22 quantitative and 3 qualitative studies; 6 were performed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); 18 studies evaluated a psychological intervention; of these, 13 found positive impact, 4 found no impact, and 1 demonstrated worsened symptoms after the intervention. Pre-event trainings decreased psychiatric symptoms in each of the 3 studies evaluating its effectiveness.

Conclusions:

This review demonstrates that there are likely effective interventions to both prevent and treat psychiatric symptoms in first responders in high-, medium-, and low-income countries.

Keywords

bystanderdisasterlow- and middle-income countriesmental healthposttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 115 - 126
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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