International journal of emergency mental health
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2013
Professional support requirements and grief interventions for parents bereaved by an unexplained death at different time periods in the grief process.
The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study examines the support needs and grief interventions professional and bereaved parents believed were helpful during different time periods in the grief process: the first 72 hours, first three to 14 days, and two weeks and beyond. Ten professionals from the following disciplines were interviewed: emergency communications, emergency medical technician, police, fireman, detective, social worker funeral director chaplain, peer support leader, and bereavement organization. ⋯ This study identified 13 support need and grief interventions: contact support people, emotional and cognitive regulation, preliminary information on cause of death, time with deceased child, accommodate and advocate, human compassion and support, describe timeline and process, referrals and resources, affordable and easy access to services, communication and follow-up, community experience, professional mental health support, and memorialize. Recommendations are provided on ways to improve services to newly bereaved parents.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2012
Incident-related television viewing and psychiatric disorders in Oklahoma City bombing survivors.
The objective of this study was to examine terrorism media coverage and psychiatric outcomes in directly-exposed terrorism survivors. The study used (1) self-report questionnaires to retrospectively assess event-related media behaviors and reactions in a cross sectional design and (2) longitudinal structured diagnostic interviews to assess psychopathologic outcomes. ⋯ Though a fear reaction to bombing-related television coverage and fear-driven discontinuation of bombing-related media contact were associated with diagnostic outcomes, the number of hours viewing bombing-related television coverage in the first week after the event was not associated with the prevalence of bombing-related posttraumatic stress disorder or post-bombing major depressive disorder during the seven years post event. The results raise doubt about the effects of quantified incident-related television viewing on clinically-significant emotional outcomes in directly-exposed terrorism survivors.
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Int J Emerg Ment Health · Jan 2011
Critical decision points in crisis support: using checklists and flow charts in psychological crises.
The field of crisis intervention has grown dramatically during the last hundred years. Many new procedures and techniques have been added to the crisis intervention repertoire. Periodically, providers of crisis intervention, psychological first aid, critical incident stress management, or Peer Support overlook important elements of crisis intervention or make inadvertent mistakes as they attempt to intervene. ⋯ This article provides background on the development of flip charts in aviation and medicine and suggests how these tools may be utilized within the field of crisis intervention. Examples of checklists and flow charts that are relevant to crisis intervention are provided. The article also provides guidelines for developing additional checklists and flow charts for use in crisis intervention services.