Diversity and Training Delivery Trends in Psychological First Aid During COVID-19: Implications for Researchers and Practitioners

Objective: Psychological first aid (PFA) refers to evidence-supported intervention by nonmental health professionals to assist those affected by disaster to achieve stability. This study probed the level of PFA academic discourse on three important topics (race/ethnicity, general training and delivery, and online training delivery) and explored PFA training delivery trends. Method: This study reviewed all available abstracts in the Web of Science database from 1975 to 2021 with keyword searches for PFA. The corpus linguistic analyses using #Lancsbox 6.0 and Sketch Engine explored the usage rate of PFA and how the PFA was used. The study also examined race/ethnicity, learning delivery except for online, and online training delivery methods. The change in online PFA training delivery with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic was analyzed using Tau with the subcorpora (2012-2020, 2020-2021). Results: The race and diversity usage rates were only 6.11 per 10,000 counts, while the substantive discourse was on PFA service and delivery. There was a significant increase in PFA online training since COVID-19 started (Tau = 0.667, p = 0.041, SETau = 0.333). Conclusions: Training and delivering online PFA is the safest method to meet the need for psychological aid during the global health crisis. Additionally, there is a significant need to address multicultural competency in PFA training and service delivery. PFA as an early critical intervention should be promoted as an early government response. Clinical Impact Statement This study is the first to review the level of PFA academic discourse on race and training delivery trends. We found a substantive discussion on PFA service and delivery but little on race and diversity. Additionally, there has been a significant increase in PFA online training since COVID-19 started. Marginalized and oppressed groups often have inequitable access to health or social services, impacted the most by disasters or health crises such as COVID-19. This study indicated a significant need to address multicultural competency in PFA training and service delivery.