Study designs of evaluations included in the review
The inclusion criteria were not defined in terms of the study design. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomised controlled trials and studies without control groups were included.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies of single-session group and individual debriefing interventions, which were administered within one month of a traumatic event, were eligible. The actual interventions in the review included: critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) sessions conducted according to Mitchell's seven-stage model (see Other Publications of Related Interest no.1), or closely corresponding to this model; 30-minute counselling; education; and historical group debriefing. In most of the studies there was a no-intervention control. The sessions lasted from approximately 30 minutes to a mean of 2.5 hours, and the interventions were conducted within 24 hours to a mean of 21 days after the trauma.
Participants included in the review
Studies of participants who had experienced a traumatic event were eligible. The actual participants had experienced burns, miscellaneous trauma (police officers), a road traffic accident, early miscarriage, violent crime and combat exposure. Where reported, the mean age of the participants ranged from 19.4 to 37.9 years and the proportion of male ranged from 0 to 76%.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies that assessed valid and reliable psychological symptoms using widely accepted clinical outcome measures, and that reported pre- and post-test data for at least one outcome, were eligible. The psychological symptoms assessed could include symptoms of PTSD or symptoms other than PTSD. The actual outcomes were assessed using the following measures: impact of event scale; clinician-administered PTSD scale (CAPS); hospital anxiety and depression scale; brief symptom inventory; and state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI-S). The final post-test assessments were conducted from immediately after the debriefing session to 36 months after trauma.
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The authors do not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many of the reviewers performed the selection.