Development of mental health first-aid guidelines for a person after a potentially traumatic event: A Delphi expert consensus study in Argentina and Chile

• Autores: Agrest, Martín; Tapia Muñoz, Thamara; Encina Zúñiga, Esteban; Vidal Zamora, Isidora; Ardila Gómez, Sara Elena; Alvarado, Rubén; Leiderman, Eduardo A; Reavley, Nicola
• Año de publicación: 2024
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Trauma; Mental Health First Aid; Cultural Adaptation; Delphy Study; Chile; Argentina
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Background: Exposure to potentially traumatic events increases the risk of a person developing a mental disorder. Training community members to offer support to a person during and after a traumatic situation may help lower this risk. This study reports on the cultural adaptation of Australian mental health first aid guidelines for individuals exposed to a potentially traumatic event to the Chilean and Argentinian context.Methods: A Delphi expert consensus study was conducted with two panels of experts, one of people with lived experience of trauma (either their own or as a carer; n = 26) and another one of health professionals (n = 41). A total of 158 items, drawn from guidelines developed by Australian experts in 2019, were translated to Spanish and evaluated in a two-round survey process. The panellists were asked to rate each item on a five-point Likert scale; statements were included in the final guidelines if 80% of both panels endorsed the item as “essential” or “important”.Results: Consensus was achieved on 142 statements over two survey rounds. A total of 102 statements were included from the English-language guidelines, and 40 locally generated statements were accepted in the second round. Local experts endorsed a larger number of items compared to their counterparts in Australia and emphasised the importance of acknowledging the first aider’s limitations, both personally and as part of their helping role. Additional items about working as a team with other first responders and considering helping the person’s significant others were endorsed by the local panellists.Conclusions: The study showed a high level of acceptance of the original actions suggested for inclusion in the guidelines for Australia, but also a significant number of new statements that highlight the importance of the adaptation process. Further research on the dissemination of these guidelines into a Mental Health First Aid training course for Chile and Argentina is still required.
Fil: Agrest, Martín. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina
Fil: Tapia Muñoz, Thamara. University College London; Estados Unidos
Fil: Encina Zúñiga, Esteban. Universidad de Chile.; Chile
Fil: Vidal Zamora, Isidora. Universidad de Chile; Chile
Fil: Ardila Gómez, Sara Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina
Fil: Alvarado, Rubén. Universidad de Chile; Chile
Fil: Leiderman, Eduardo A. Universidad de Palermo. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; Argentina
Fil: Reavley, Nicola. University of Melbourne; Australia