This tip sheet lists reactions to stress that are common among children and that caregivers, parents, and teachers may see during and after an infectious disease outbreak. It also suggests ways that adults can help children manage stress.

Developed by the World Health Organization, the AUDIT is a brief (10-item) screening tool that primary care practitioners, healthcare paraprofessionals, and individuals can use to screen others, or themselves, for problematic alcohol use. The AUDIT is provided in both interview and self-report versions and includes illustrations and measures of standard drinks.

This issue of The Dialogue, SAMHSA DTAC’s quarterly newsletter, features articles about the response to Ebola in Africa, including measures taken to support responders during and after their work. It also covers the experience of a provider who helped with part of the response to Ebola in Dallas, Texas, when he and others were challenged with supporting the quarantine of an individual who had been exposed to Ebola and was homeless.

This guide was developed to assist institutions of higher education in creating and updating emergency plans that are responsive to active shooter situations, as well as natural disasters. This resource was jointly developed by the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Education, and Health and Human Services so that campus communities can align their emergency planning practices with those at the national, state, and local levels.

This tip sheet for parents and other caregivers and teachers explains how to help children cope with the emotional aftermath of a disaster and includes information on common reactions according to developmental stage.

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians offers this collection of resources for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to help them understand and manage their own work-related stressors and mental health and support the individuals they serve. The collection includes articles, research, online information, and hotlines.

Designed as a peer education effort for firefighters, this website features videos in which firefighters, fire chiefs, and captains talk about stress and trauma that may be involved in work as a firefighter, as well as experiences of seeking and taking part in treatment. Firefighters Helping Firefighters was created in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Although the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health developed this web page in response to 2017 hurricanes that hit the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the page provides information relevant to any responder deployed to support communities after hurricanes and floods. The page provides information about stress and coping, and links are provided to resources for more information.

This free, on-demand online course describes Stress First Aid and prepares fire, emergency medical services, and rescue personnel to use this technique, which includes several actions responders can use to manage stress for themselves and their teams. While the course is available free of charge, people need to set up a free account with the Fire Hero Learning Network website to access it.

This 2-hour online course covers stress management for first responders—including stress they experience in the field as they assist others as well as the stress people they help may be experiencing due to a disaster. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Public Health Training Network also contributed to the production of this course.

This tip sheet describes some of the challenges involved in disaster response work and how these challenges may make responders more vulnerable to substance misuse. It lists signs of substance misuse, suggests ways to address substance misuse issues in yourself or someone you care about, and identifies resources for additional support.

This 30-minute training is intended for emergency responders who work shifts longer than normal work hours. It gives an overview of how long hours can affect an individual’s health and provides tips for taking care of yourself during active duty.

This tip sheet suggests ways for disaster responders to manage the transition back to work after deployment for a response effort. It identifies ways to bolster personal resilience and address issues that responders commonly encounter when returning to work, and it presents signs of the need for additional support related to mental health or substance use.

The Headington Institute offers a variety of trainings, educational materials, and counseling and consultation services for humanitarian relief and development workers and emergency responders. It does work to support the well-being of responders and response organizations and the effectiveness of response efforts.

This online brochure provides physical and psychological safety tips for disaster responders. The brochure notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Resilience and Mental Health Team supported development of this resource. A section of the brochure describes resilience to stress, lists signs of stress, and suggests ways to build resilience.

This free online course is designed to prepare first responders and others to maintain psychological health during and after emergency response to serve others more effectively. The course defines and describes stress, explains potential effects of work with survivors, and offers tools and tips for managing stress. Although the course is offered free of charge, registration with the CoursePlus website is required to complete it.

An organization with more than 65,000 members, the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) represents paramedics, emergency medical technicians, emergency medical responders, and other emergency medical services (EMS) professionals. NAEMT provides education for EMS professionals, supports research and innovation in EMS, and does work to improve both patient care and work environments for EMS professionals.

This 60-minute webcast identifies types and sources of stress that disaster behavioral health responders may face, as well as methods of self-care. It also covers ways that supervisors and managers of disaster behavioral health responders can support their teams in coping with stress.

Designed for military service members, this web page discusses signs of distress and suicidal thoughts and encourages readers to get help when they feel suicidal or unsafe or are in crisis. It also identifies sources of additional information and support.

This tip sheet describes compassion fatigue and its components, burnout and secondary traumatic stress. It offers tips for coping with compassion fatigue, and it also describes compassion satisfaction and notes ways to foster compassion satisfaction among members of your response team.

This tip sheet describes aspects of the transition families go through when a member returns home after a disaster deployment. It also suggests ways that family members other than the responder can navigate the transition and support the responder in coping with the return home.

This part of the SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) website explains that responders face heightened risk of mental illness and substance use disorders due to the nature of their work. It identifies signs of stress; ways to manage stress; and related resources from SAMHSA DTAC, including online trainings, webcasts, and tip sheets.

This pamphlet defines and describes indirect trauma, which is sometimes also referred to as compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma. It explains how indirect traumatization occurs, highlights effects of indirect trauma, and suggests ways to cope.

This tip sheet describes grief and the grieving process, both of which are often associated with disasters. It suggests ways to support survivors, as well as highlighting signs of complicated or traumatic grief or other grief that may require professional mental health care.

This website offers information for prehospital patient care, providing resources for emergency medical service personnel to help them do their jobs better and more safely. The site features information about training, as well as news articles about major emergencies, medical issues, and administrative and leadership topics.