Pojem „psychologická první pomoc“: je užíván (vždy) vhodně?
Authors: Hudcová Bianka 
Published: January 2023

The term psychological first aid is used inhomogeneously in the professional literature of various disciplines, which means that the term is either synonymized or confused with other terms related to the provision of psychosocial assistance to those affected in the context of a crisis. However, they have different meanings and are applied in different contexts, which can represent a certain terminological and semantic chaos in the professional community. Aims: To present the results of the conceptual analysis of the term psychological first aid, its defining attributes and an overview of synonymous terms used in the Czech and foreign literature. Methods: The method of Walker and Avant was used to process the conceptual analysis. It is a frequently used method of conceptual analysis, especially in nursing and psychological research. However, the Walker and Avant method, due to its linearity and clear structure, is also recommended for use in research in other fields of study and science. The analysis is a critical assessment of relevant sources published between 2000 and 2020. The criteria for inclusion of relevant available sources in the analysis included the availability of full text and relevance to the topic addressed, year of publication, source language (English, Czech). By preparing a conceptual analysis, 89 Czech and 717 foreign sources (publications, articles, final theses) concerning possible concepts and definitions of psychological first aid were found. These were further sorted according to the set criteria and analyzed using the individual steps of the selected method of conceptual analysis. Results: The performed analysis confirmed the assumption of inconsistent use of the term PFA in the context of the crisis. In the surveyed studies, PFA is most often confused or synonymized with the terms psychological first aid (psychologická první pomoc), mental health first aid (psychická první pomoc), psychiatric first aid (psychiatrická první pomoc), psychosocial first aid (psychosociální první pomoc), psychosocial support (psychosociální podpora), psychosocial intervention (psychosociální pomoc), crisis intervention (krizová intervence, krizová pomoc), psychological debriefing and others. According to the results of the analysis, the defining attributes of PFA may include assistance, type of event / situation, assisting person, affected person, time of PFA provision, objective / purpose of PFA provision. Conclusion: It has been found that the definition of psychological first aid is described in many available sources and modified to many cultures and languages. There is a clear inconsistency in the definition of the selected concept in the retrieved sources. Psychological first aid is an immediate short term one-off assistance to assist the affected individual in dealing with emergencies, while related concepts such as crisis intervention, crisis assistance and others mean more options for support and management of psychosocial assistance to those affected in crisis. Determining the defining attributes of psychological first aid enables the creation of a clearer and more specific definition.