Effectiveness of Psychological First Aid E-learning on the Competence and Empathy of Nurses in Disasters: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of psychological first-aid (PFA) E-learning on the competence and empathy of nurses in disasters. Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, 50 nurses were randomly assigned to 2 intervention and control groups, and psychological first-aid training sessions were implemented for the intervention group. The data were collected using the personal information form, a researcher-made questionnaire to measure competence, and the Davis Empathy Questionnaire. Results: Two groups were homogeneous in terms of competency ( P = 0.691) and empathy ( P = 0.363) in the preintervention phase. The intervention group had more competence in the next stage than before the intervention ( P < 0.0001). In the post-intervention phase, the intervention group had more competence compared with the control group ( P < 0.0001). The overall effect size of PFA E-learning training on the nurses’ competency was 1.9. Regarding empathy, in the post-intervention phase, the subscale of personal distress ( P = 0.014) was significantly lower in the intervention group and the perspective-taking subscale was higher than in the control group ( P < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of all scores of empathy and the subscale of empathic concern ( P > 0.05). The overall effect size of PFA E-learning training on the nurses’ empathy was 0.44. Conclusions: It is suggested to provide training, including a PFA E-learning model, for nurses and other therapists in disaster situations.