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Factors Related to Current Level of Knowledge and Skills of Psychological First Aid Among Health Care Providers for Africa and the Global South: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2025

Oluwaseun Adebayo Adewunmi Open the ORCID record for Oluwaseun Adebayo Adewunmi [Opens in a new window] ,
Takeo Fujiwara ,
Nobutoshi Nawa ,
Yu Par Khin Open the ORCID record for Yu Par Khin [Opens in a new window]  and
Eyitayo Adedamola Lawal
Oluwaseun Adebayo Adewunmi*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Institute of Science, Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Takeo Fujiwara
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Institute of Science, Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Nobutoshi Nawa
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Institute of Science, Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Yu Par Khin
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Institute of Science, Tokyo, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Eyitayo Adedamola Lawal
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
*
Corresponding author: Oluwaseun Adebayo Adewunmi; Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
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Abstract

Introduction and Objective

Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a crucial intervention designed to mitigate the psychological impact of acute crises among individuals. PFA aims to equip health care providers with the necessary skills and knowledge to offer immediate psychosocial support, thereby reducing the potential for long-term mental health issues. This study assesses health care practitioners’ existing knowledge and skills in PFA.

Methods

We searched PubMed, Psych INFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Google Scholar databases from April 1, 2023 to August 7, 2023, for studies published within 10 years that reported knowledge and skills of health care workers on PFA. A qualitative synthesis was performed on the selected studies.

Results

Out of the 626 resulting studies, 12 were eligible. Self-efficacy was used to determine the effectiveness of psychological first-aid training. Passage of time had a significant impact on health care workers’ understanding of proper psychosocial responses. PFA training is effective in providing psychological assistance to health personnel. The longer-term effects of the PFA training program are unknown.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the effectiveness of PFA training in improving health care providers’ knowledge and skills, calling for ongoing efforts to address challenges, adapt training approaches, and ensure the continued improvement of psychosocial support in acute crises.

Keywords

psychological first aidhealth care providersself-efficacyGlobal Southknowledge
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 19 , 2025 , e85
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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