{"title":"Accessible Psychological First Aid (PFA) training for disaster preparedness: effects on coping strategies among deaf adults in India.","authors":"Pallavi Kulshrestha, Sonia Malik","doi":"10.1080/13548506.2026.2736150","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Deaf individuals are often disproportionately vulnerable during disasters due to communication barriers, limited access to early warning systems, and reduced inclusion in emergency response mechanisms. Strengthening psychosocial preparedness and coping capacities within Deaf communities is therefore critical for inclusive disaster risk reduction. Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a widely used approach in disaster and emergency contexts that aims to promote safety, emotional stabilization, and adaptive coping. However, limited empirical research has examined the effectiveness of accessible PFA interventions for Deaf populations. The present study examined the impact of an Indian Sign Language (ISL)-adapted PFA training on coping strategies among Deaf adults in India. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed with 102 participants (experimental <i>n</i> = 51; control <i>n</i> = 51) across two regions (Telangana and Delhi). Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief COPE and categorized into problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping domains. Results indicated that participants in the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater increases in problem-focused and emotion-focused coping compared to the control group, while no significant differences were observed in avoidant coping. These findings suggest that accessible PFA training can enhance adaptive coping capacities that are critical for disaster preparedness and psychosocial resilience among Deaf individuals. The study underscores the importance of designing inclusive, linguistically accessible psychosocial interventions to strengthen disaster readiness and reduce vulnerability among Deaf communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":54535,"journal":{"name":"Psychology Health & Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychology Health & Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2026.2736150","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Deaf individuals are often disproportionately vulnerable during disasters due to communication barriers, limited access to early warning systems, and reduced inclusion in emergency response mechanisms. Strengthening psychosocial preparedness and coping capacities within Deaf communities is therefore critical for inclusive disaster risk reduction. Psychological First Aid (PFA) is a widely used approach in disaster and emergency contexts that aims to promote safety, emotional stabilization, and adaptive coping. However, limited empirical research has examined the effectiveness of accessible PFA interventions for Deaf populations. The present study examined the impact of an Indian Sign Language (ISL)-adapted PFA training on coping strategies among Deaf adults in India. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed with 102 participants (experimental n = 51; control n = 51) across two regions (Telangana and Delhi). Coping strategies were assessed using the Brief COPE and categorized into problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping domains. Results indicated that participants in the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater increases in problem-focused and emotion-focused coping compared to the control group, while no significant differences were observed in avoidant coping. These findings suggest that accessible PFA training can enhance adaptive coping capacities that are critical for disaster preparedness and psychosocial resilience among Deaf individuals. The study underscores the importance of designing inclusive, linguistically accessible psychosocial interventions to strengthen disaster readiness and reduce vulnerability among Deaf communities.
期刊介绍：
Psychology, Health & Medicine is a multidisciplinary journal highlighting human factors in health. The journal provides a peer reviewed forum to report on issues of psychology and health in practice. This key publication reaches an international audience, highlighting the variation and similarities within different settings and exploring multiple health and illness issues from theoretical, practical and management perspectives. It provides a critical forum to examine the wide range of applied health and illness issues and how they incorporate psychological knowledge, understanding, theory and intervention. The journal reflects the growing recognition of psychosocial issues as they affect health planning, medical care, disease reaction, intervention, quality of life, adjustment adaptation and management.
For many years theoretical research was very distant from applied understanding. The emerging movement in health psychology, changes in medical care provision and training, and consumer awareness of health issues all contribute to a growing need for applied research. This journal focuses on practical applications of theory, research and experience and provides a bridge between academic knowledge, illness experience, wellbeing and health care practice.
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