Mental first aid. 1994

O T Foss
Norwegian Directorate of Health, Department of Preventive Services, Oslo.

This paper reports a survey of staff of Oslo Sporveier who had been involved in serious incidents such as accidents resulting in severe personal injuries and death, suicide, robbery and assault. The survey was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of Mental First Aid in a retrospective study. The introduction of Mental First Aid was based on the beneficial effects from early intervention reported from follow-up studies after previous disasters, so for ethical reasons there was no control group. When help was given within the first few days without the use of any external specialists, and with strong support from colleagues during the first days back at work, there was little absenteeism. The beneficial effects of early intervention are stressed as is the use of non-professionals in forming a social network around employees who have been involved in traumatic incidents. Safety ombudsmen who have been given brief instruction are brought to the site of the incident to apply the principles of Mental First Aid. These secondary preventive measures are very effective and could be implemented by other medium-sized transport companies whose staff are exposed to the risk of suicide attempts.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009784 Occupational Diseases Diseases caused by factors involved in one's employment. Diseases, Occupational,Occupational Illnesses,Disease, Occupational,Illnesse, Occupational,Illnesses, Occupational,Occupational Disease,Occupational Illnesse
D003419 Crisis Intervention Brief therapeutic approach which is ameliorative rather than curative of acute psychiatric emergencies. Used in contexts such as emergency rooms of psychiatric or general hospitals, or in the home or place of crisis occurrence, this treatment approach focuses on interpersonal and intrapsychic factors and environmental modification. (APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 7th ed) Brief Advice,Brief Interventions,Brief Treatment,Critical Incident Stress Debriefing,Screening and Brief Intervention,Advice, Brief,Brief Intervention,Brief Treatments,Crisis Interventions,Intervention, Brief,Intervention, Crisis,Treatment, Brief
D005260 Female Females
D005500 Follow-Up Studies Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease. Followup Studies,Follow Up Studies,Follow-Up Study,Followup Study,Studies, Follow-Up,Studies, Followup,Study, Follow-Up,Study, Followup
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000041 Absenteeism Chronic absence from work or other duty.
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults

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