Listen Protect Connect for Traumatized Schoolchildren: A Pilot Study of Psychological First Aid

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cavanaugh, Joseph E. ; Frederick, Maisha ; Harland, Karisa ; Ramirez, Marizen ; Shepherd, Rhoda ; Wong, Marleen
• Description:
  Background: Listen Protect Connect (LPC), a school-based program of Psychological First Aid delivered by non-mental health professionals, is intended to support trauma-exposed children. Our objective was to implement LPC in a school setting and assess the effectiveness of LPC on improving psychosocial outcomes associated with trauma. Methods: A pilot quasi-experiment was conducted with middle school children self-identified or referred to the school nurse as potentially exposed to stressful life experiences. LPC was provided to students by the school nurse, and questionnaires were administered at baseline, 2-, 4- and 8-weeks to assess life stressors, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, social support, and school connectedness. A total of 71 measurements were collected from 20 children in all. Although a small sample size, multiple measurements allowed for multivariable mixed effects models to analyze changes in the repeated outcomes over time. Results: Students who received the intervention had reduced depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms from baseline throughout follow-up period. Total social support also increased significantly from baseline through 8-weeks, and school connectedness increased up to 4-weeks post-intervention. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of LPC as a school-based intervention of Psychological First Aid. Future randomized trials of LPC are needed, however. Erratum to: Listen protect connect for traumatized schoolchildren: a pilot study of psychological first aid. Due to an error in the publication process, this article was published with an incorrect figure for Figure three (Figure 1 here), corrected in issue BMC Psychol. 2014 Oct; 2(1):45. We apologise to the authors and the readers for any inconvenience caused. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Education Health Promotion Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Schools Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Post-traumatic Stress Disorders; Intervention Studies; Schools; Child Education; Children; Psychology; Psychological Effects; Psychological Factors; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; PTSD; Health Programs; Intervention; Intervention Effectiveness; Effectiveness Research; Psychosocial Factors; Traumatic Incident Stress;
• ISSN:
  2050-7283
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20062473
• Citation:
  BMC Psychol 2013 Nov; 1:26
• Contact Point Address:
  Marizen Ramirez, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Iowa, 105 S. River St. #318, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
• Email:
  marizen-ramirez@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  BMC Psychology
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c4003598e0e36d7eaf3c031c68f639ce6b3347c81f0a4d0bd503c3cf5e480e137407543c332a9e17169429ab2eba99dc5476b0f3728d76adc25dbe6bb387c462
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231588/cdc_231588_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 265.94 KB ]