The Type of Providers Delivering Practice Elements Used in Child Mass Trauma Interventions: A Systematic Review
Clinical Snapshot
PICO Framework
| P — Population | Children exposed to mass trauma events |
| I — Intervention | Mass trauma interventions delivered by various provider types (mental health professionals, non-specialist providers, teachers/school personnel) |
| C — Comparator | Different provider types and their practice element delivery patterns |
| O — Outcomes | Frequency of use of various practice elements, provider utilization patterns across events, populations, and settings |
Bottom Line
This systematic review of 130 child mass trauma interventions reveals distinct patterns in how different provider types deliver therapeutic elements. Mental health professionals predominantly deliver evidence-based cognitive and exposure interventions to targeted high-risk populations in clinical settings, while non-specialist providers and teachers focus on support networking and social skills training for universal populations in community settings. These findings offer practical guidance for disaster response planning, suggesting that effective mass trauma response requires a tiered approach utilizing different provider types according to their training and expertise. For Australian clinicians, this supports current disaster response frameworks that emphasize community-based interventions delivered by trained non-specialists, while reserving specialist interventions for high-risk individuals. However, the lack of quality assessment and precision measures limits confidence in these recommendations.
Key Findings
P Value: Not reported
Effect Size: Not reported - descriptive frequency analysis
Primary Outcome: Provider type utilization patterns for specific practice elements in child mass trauma interventions
Nnt Or Sensitivity: Mental health professionals more frequently delivered cognitive, self-monitoring, exposure, and narrative elements; non-specialists and teachers more frequently delivered support networking and social skills training
Confidence Interval: Not provided
Clinical Application
Highly feasible - provides practical framework for allocating different provider types based on their training and expertise Directly relevant to Australian disaster response planning, particularly for bushfires, floods, and other natural disasters. Aligns with National Mental Health Commission frameworks and could inform training programs for non-specialist providers in rural/remote areas where mental health professionals are scarce Children and adolescents exposed to mass trauma events including natural disasters, terrorism, and community violence
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review identified the relative frequency of use of various types of providers delivering practice elements in 130 child mass trauma interventions and compared the use of these providers across events, populations, and settings. RECENT FINDINGS: Mental health professionals (MHPs) more frequently delivered cognitive, self-monitoring, exposure, and narrative elements than other providers while non-specialist providers (NSPs) and teachers and school personnel (TSPs) delivered support networking and social skills training more frequently. MHPs administered interventions to targeted populations more frequently, and TSPs administered interventions to universal populations more frequently. Only MHPs administered interventions at clinical facilities; NSPs delivered a majority of interventions at community sites. Understanding the specific practice elements delivered by providers with different backgrounds and training can inform efforts to enhance the reach and impact of mass trauma services. Future publications should report greater detail about providers and their training and about specific practice elements used.
References
- 1.Pfefferbaum, B., Newman, E., Nitiéma, P., Slaughter, A., & Van Horn, R. L. (2026). The Type of Providers Delivering Practice Elements Used in Child Mass Trauma Interventions: A Systematic Review. Current Psychiatry Reports. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(03)00138-4
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