Critical incident stress debriefing for first responders: a review of the clinical benefit and harm

Tran K, Nkansah E
Record ID 32011001196
English
Authors' recommendations: Two RCTs were identified that compared CISD to other interventions in US soldiers and peacekeepers. No studies were found examining CISD for first responders such as police officers. Evidence from the identified RCTs indicated that CISD has no clear positive or negative effects compared to the other interventions although it received positive evaluation. One study expressed concern that CISD might have long-term negative impacts such as alcohol problems or higher distress level when provided to individuals exposed to higher stressors. Both studies suggested that CISD groups who were exposed to higher levels of combat exposure showed improvement in PTSD, depressive, and sleep symptoms than control, but no difference was reported with lower levels of exposure. Given the prolonged controversy and debate concerning the efficacy of CISD, the current limited evidence does not permit conclusions regarding its benefit and harm.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2010
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Adaptation, Psychological
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Emergency Medical Services
  • Emergency Medical Technicians
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Workplace
Contact
Organisation Name: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address: 600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name: requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email: requests@cadth.ca
Copyright: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.