Research Snapshot: Psychological First Aid in the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

This document provides a two-page summary of the research undertaken as part of the R2HC-funded study Strengthening Evidence for The Scaling of Psychological First Aid in Humanitarian Settings.

This study evaluated the effect of Psychological First Aid (PFA) training. It found that PFA can be an effective approach to building capacity in non-specialists so they can provide psychosocial support during emergencies. However, the quality and length of programmes used for PFA training must be sufficient to build and sustain key skills. Moving beyond the ‘one-day’ training is encouraged.

This Snapshot summarises:

• Background to the research and how the research was conducted,
• Key findings,
• Implications for humanitarian practitioners and policymakers,
• Recommendations,
• Further reading.