1. Hello everyone.

I am midhat and my topic is natural disters and how pfa can help
2. Disasters such as earthquakes, floods and fires typically affect many people at the
same time and often involve large-scale devastation and loss of homes and lives.
Natural disasters are frightening and often result in chaos and panic. People
affected by natural disasters risk being physically hurt, witnessing the injury or
even death of others, fearing for their own lives and safety, being separated from
their families, and loved ones, and relocating in temporary or permanent shelters.
Psychological first aid can help people find support and strength during these
difficult times.
3. What is PFA
4. Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-informed approach used to help
individuals in the aftermath of a crisis, disaster, or traumatic event. Its primary
goal is to provide emotional and practical support, reduce distress, and promote
coping and functioning. PFA involves listening without pressuring people to talk,
offering reassurance, ensuring safety, and connecting individuals with basic needs
and support systems. Unlike formal therapy, PFA focuses on immediate needs and
helping people regain a sense of stability and control.
5. Elements of PFA
Psychological First Aid is guided by the five basic elements of psychosocial support
that have been gathered from research on risk and resilience, field experience and
expert agreement. When providing psychological first aid these elements should
be kept in mind.
 Ensuring safety Assess and address immediate physical needs and ensure the person is in a
safe environment to reduce anxiety and distress.
 Promoting calm :Offer emotional support by listening empathetically and giving
reassurance that their feelings are normal during a crisis.
 Promoting connectedness: Help individuals connect with family, friends, and community
resources to strengthen their support network.
 Promoting self efficacy enchacing a person’s belief, fostering confidence and
resilience.
 Instilling hope fostering a positive outlook and a belief that future outcomes can improve

6. People’s reaction to difficult experiences depends on the nature of their

experience, resilience, age and personality, support system, usual coping
methods, and previous experiences. However, the following common
emotional and physical distress reactions can be expected in adults and
older children immediately during and in the days, weeks, months, or years
following a disaster
 Feelings of guilt, sadness, relief, anger, fear, anxiety, confusion,
uncertainty, hopelessness
 Feeling numb, increased heartbeat, sweating, shaking, trembling or
shortness of breath
 Difficulty making decisions and comprehending complex information
 Difficulty communicating clearly with others
 Feelings of helplessness or powerlessness
 Feeling overwhelmed.
7. Reactions expected in children may differ from those in adults such as
 Sleep disorders
 Feelings of anxiety and depression
 Social withdrawal from others
 Concentration difficulties
 Crying
 Clinging behavior
 Regression
8. Complex reactions, are more severe and require referral for specialized
help. Some of the most reported complex reactions following a natural
disaster are:
 Panic attacks and feelings of overwhelming anxiety – these may include
an increased heartbeat, shortness of breath, pain in the chest, excessive
sweating, feeling dizzy or light-headed and feeling like something very
bad is going to happen to him/her right now.
 Anger and aggressive behavior – when a person experience immense
loss, the person may feel and express anger / aggression to feel
grounded and strong.
 Self-harm and suicide – the person may start hurting him/herself on
purpose, for example, by cutting or burning their skin. People do this to
shift their focus from the pain of loss. It is important to always take
someone seriously when they say they want to end their life, they
should not be left alone and immediate referral must be provided.
 Sleep problems – very common after traumatic events. Many people
start having disturbing dreams, others may have trouble in falling and/or
remaining asleep. If it persists, it may lead to other psychological and
physical problems and interfere with daily living, mood, and
relationships.
 Flashbacks – it is also called re-experiencing when a person feels as if
they are back in the moment of the original stressful event. They feel
very real and leave the person confused and frightened.
9. For children some of the complex reactions may look like:
 Nightmares and/or night terrors
  Panic attacks
  Pseudo seizures – fits that cannot be medically explained
  Tantrums (an uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration)
  Bed wetting
  Weight loss
  Social withdrawal
10.Some helpful coping mechanisms which you can teach them are
 Engaging in positive distracting activities
 Trying to maintain a normal schedule to the extent possible
 Regular exercising
 Taking enough nutrition and rest
 Keeping a journal
 Telling themselves that it is natural to be upset for some period of time

11.Psychological First Aid (PFA) can have a positive impact on people affected
by disasters in several ways:
 Emotional Support: It helps to reduce initial distress by providing comfort,
reassurance, and a sense of safety.
 Stabilization: PFA helps stabilize people emotionally and prevent further
psychological harm.
 Basic Needs: It assists in connecting individuals with practical resources,
such as shelter, food, and medical help.
 Coping Strategies: PFA provides guidance on managing stress, helping
individuals regain a sense of control and normalcy.
 Restoration of Hope: By listening empathetically and showing care, PFA
helps foster hope and motivation to overcome challenges.
 Preventing Long-term Trauma: Early support through PFA can reduce the
risk of long-term psychological issues like PTSD.
 Help in planning contingency plans: PFA helps individuals plan contingency measures during
crises by identifying available resources and encouraging open communication about their
concerns. It assists in setting achievable safety goals and builds resilience, fostering a sense of
control. By providing practical guidance, PFA empowers individuals to create effective emergency
plans tailored to their specific needs.
These elements contribute to better emotional resilience and recovery in
individuals affected by disasters.

12.It is also important to remember that not everyone experiencing an

emergency or crisis will have prolonged or complex distress symptoms. They
may have some protective factors including such as:
 Good level of functioning
 Social support
 Ability to cope
 Strong moral belief systems
 Returning to normal life
 Reducing disruption
13.PFA can be delivered in any setting where it is safe for the person and the
provider/helper. It can be provided at the scene of an emergency or at
places where affected people gather like
 Evacuation / relief centers / camps
 Recovery centers
 Hospitals
 Homes
 Assistance centers
 Mosques
 Schools
 Shopping centers/marketplaces
 Airports
 Memorial services
 Community centers
14.When people experience an intense situation where they feel under threat,
danger, or fear, their negative psychological reactions continue as long as
their perception of the threat lasts. Research has shown that experience is
uniform across cultures, and these negative reactions only gradually reduce
when safety is reintroduced. Ensuring safety may include:
 Removing people from the vicinity of the natural disaster
 Help people meet their basic needs for food ,water.etc
 Helping people obtain emergency medical attention
 Providing physical and emotional comfort
 Providing simple repeated and accurate information
15.During intense experiences of negative reactions, following a humanitarian
situation, people face a risk ofdeveloping longer term mental health
disorders if their stress reactions are not normalized timely. Some waysof
promoting calm may include:
 Stabilizing people who are overwhelmed or disoriented
 Maintaining familiar environments, settings, daily routines and
objects for children
 Providing an environment removed from stressful situations or
exposure to sights sounds and smells of the emergency
 Listening to people who wish to share their stories and emotions,
without forcing them to talk
 Remembering that there is no right or wrong way to feel
 Being friendly and compassionate even during difficult interactions
with people
 Providing techniques and psychoeducation on stress and coping
  Reminding people when they express fear or worry, that more help
and services are on the way
16.In the wake of a humanitarian situation, having access to social support
activities and networks increasesopportunities for emotional understanding,
knowledge to be shared, to normalize reactions, and solveproblems. Social
support has been found to be closely related to better emotional wellbeing
and recovery from distressing events. Promoting connectedness may
include:
 Helping people contact friends and loved ones
 Keeping families together
 Keeping children with parents or care givers.
 Helping establish contacts with support people
 Offering practical help to people to address immediate needs and
concerns
 Providing information and directing people to the services that are
available
17.Self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of being in control of some
aspects in their life. Having a sense of control over positive outcomes in
one’s life is generally psychologically beneficial. Distressing events can make
people feel as if they have lost control or lack the competence to manage
their life. Prior to the crisis or traumatic event, people usually had some sort
of routine. Through PFA we can remind them of their resilience and their
ability to maintain their life prior to the event. Promoting self-efficacy may
include:
 Engaging people in meeting their own needs
  Assisting with decision making, and helping them to prioritize
problems and solve them
18.It is found that people who remain optimistic in times of crisis are more
likely to experience favorable outcomes following distressing events. This is
because people can retain a reasonable degree of hope for their future.
Instilling hope may include:
 Conveying an expectancy that people will recover
 Being there/being willing to help
 Reassuring people that their feelings are normal
19.This is a case study on how PFA can help people psychologically to overcome
any natural disaster
This study evaluated the effectiveness of a modified Psychological First Aid
(PFA) training program in enhancing nurses' psychological preparedness for
emergencies and disasters. Psychologically prepared nurses are crucial for
mitigating the effects of conflicts and disasters, and PFA training equips
them to respond effectively during such crises. Conducted as a
nonequivalent controlled group trial from July to August 2019, the study
involved nurses from trauma units in five hospitals in Palestine, divided into
a control group and an intervention group that received a 9-hour modified
PFA training program. Out of 168 nurses, 150 completed the baseline data,
revealing significant improvements in psychological preparedness in the
intervention group compared to the control group at posttest (37.81 vs.
32.64; p = 0.013). Enhancements were also observed in optimism (p =
0.009), self-esteem (p = 0.008), and self-efficacy (p = 0.033), with a large
intervention effect (Cohen's d = 1.41). In conclusion, the PFA training
effectively improved nurses' readiness to address psychological issues
during and after emergencies. Therefore, health policy should prioritize
psychological preparedness for healthcare workers and regularly implement
PFA training to enhance nurses' psychological readiness.