Youth Ambassadors for Disaster Preparedness: Using Psychological First Aid in Times of Crisis

Introduction. COVID-19 has been declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This global disaster has impacted people in various ways, such as the practice of physical distancing and the large-scale social restriction program implemented by the government. This situation of crisis also leads to mental health problems for those who are facing it. Method. We initiated a program with the goal of creating youth ambassadors for disaster preparedness, focusing on the mental health aspect of facing disasters. Nineteen undergraduate students with a psychology background were selected and given proper training on psychological first aid (PFA), which aims to help those affected by this disaster by fostering short and long-term adaptive functioning. Result. The youth ambassador team carried out multiple programs, such as psycho-education webinars held online multiple times. They also gave help to Indonesian students currently studying abroad in Italy in the form of interactive sessions. Discussion. The program gives promising results, with the training enabling the students to function as youth ambassadors and spokesperson on mental health during this disaster, gives them the tools they need to help others in the form of PFA. The training module could be implemented further to create more ambassadors working for this cause.