Objective: Trauma informed care (TIC) is an important approach for people who have experienced trauma. Although psychological first aid (PFA) may be effective training in TIC, no study reported an association between PFA training and TIC. This study aimed to investigate the association between PFA training and attitudes toward TIC among health care professionals in Japan.
Methods: Japanese health care professionals were recruited for a survey conducted from May 21 to June 18, 2021. TIC was assessed by the Attitudes Related to Trauma Informed Care Scale 10-item short form (ARTIC-10). A question about PFA training participation was originally developed through discussion among researchers. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the association between the PFA experience and ARTIC-10.
Results: In total, 484 (3.6%) health care professionals completed all questions. Among them, 77 (15.9%) had experienced PFA training. Univariate and multiple linear regression analyses showed that PFA experience (B = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.02-0.36, P = 0.03; B = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.01-0.34, P = 0.04) was significantly associated with ARTIC-10.
Conclusions: This study was the first to show an association between PFA training and attitudes toward TIC among health care professionals, which was a significant result for future research on PFA training, TIC, and trauma care.
Keywords: PFA; TIC; health care professional; psychological first aid; trauma informed care.