ArticleWorkplace health & safety2023
Helping the Helpers: Adaptation and Evaluation of Stress First Aid for Healthcare Workers in the Veterans Health Administration During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in Workplace health & safety, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions to Support the Mental Health of Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Pooled it
- Implementation facilitators and barriers of stress first aid to protect mental health of frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- Testing an Intervention to Improve Health Care Worker Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Article
- Stress first aid for the harm reduction workforce: pilot test results of an occupational stress intervention.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Effect of an Online Continuing Professional Development Course on Physicians' Intention to Approach a Colleague in Difficulty: Mixed Methods Convergent Study.JMIR medical education · 2026Observational
- Coping strategies and resilient behavior among frontline healthcare workers: A scoping review.Dialogues in health · 2025Review
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health emergency and disaster risk management systems: a scoping review of mental health support provided to health care workers.Journal of occupational health · 2025Article
- Adapting the Stress First Aid Model for Frontline Healthcare Workers during COVID-19.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Trauma-Informed Care: A Missing Link in Addressing Burnout.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEarly interventions are needed to support the behavioral health of healthcare staff in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress First Aid (SFA) is a self-care and peer support model for reducing burnout and stress that is designed for use in high-stress occupations.
methodsWe conducted a mixed-methods evaluation of an SFA program in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This brief, multi-session, didactic program was adapted for hospital workgroups. Program attendees completed a survey assessing implementation outcomes, burnout, stress, mood, and SFA skills at the beginning (
findingsProgram acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility were rated highly. From pre- to post-SFA, the impact of the pandemic on stress and anxiety, as well as proficiency in supporting peers increased. Qualitative findings suggest the program provided a shared language to discuss stress, normalized stress reactions, met a need for stress management tools, and helped staff feel valued, empowered, connected with each other. Staff reported being more aware of their stress, but SFA was insufficient to address many of the systemic sources of burnout and stress. CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE: While the SFA program was well received, the impact of brief programs is likely to be modest when implemented in the middle of an ongoing pandemic and when burnout arises from chiefly from systemic sources. Lessons learned during the program implementation that may guide future efforts are discussed.
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