When first responders reach victims following missile attacks or mass shootings, they too are often overwhelmed. An AI app developed in Israel is designed to help treat traumatised patients professionally.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva have developed the “PFA BOT”. This web-based app provides precise and scientifically sound guidance in critical emergency situations. The acronym stands for “Psychological First Aid”.
The application is designed to help provide psychological first aid to trauma victims. It was developed with the support of psychologists, scientists specialising in emergency medicine, emergency services personnel and aid organisations, as well as commanders from the Israeli army.
The online application is accessible via a web browser. To use it, the user must first register. It offers advice such as: “After an emergency, it is not helpful to immediately offer survivors water or ask, ‘How are you feeling?’ Such reactions can cause them to remain passive or become emotionally overwhelmed, delaying their recovery.”
Eye contact is important
According to the experts, it is important, for example, to maintain eye contact with the victim and interact with them. The app guides the user step by step through psychological first aid for people in psychological shock and acute stress. In doing so, it follows the internationally recognised protocol used worldwide.
The app also contributes to continuity of care. The user enters the details of the case at hand and immediately receives tailored instructions. “This tool gives every first aider confidence, even without professional training,” the app states. “It reduces errors and increases the chances of a quick and effective recovery for those affected.”
The chatbot is available in Hebrew, English and Arabic and free of charge. It has been trained using data from real-life cases in Israel and research studies. The tool is designed to respond to a wide range of emergencies, from missile attacks and mass shootings to earthquakes, domestic violence and sexual assaults. It is aimed at individuals aged 16 and over. The chatbot always concludes its conversations by providing details of suitable organisations that those affected can contact.
Also useful in the current war with Iran
The app was primarily developed by Talia Meital Schwartz-Tayri, founder and head of the Research Lab for AI in Social Services, which is part of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The lab focuses on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to address social, health and environmental issues.
The lab has already investigated a wide range of social phenomena and policy areas – from child and family welfare to end-of-life care. She joined a volunteer group of psychiatrists immediately after the Hamas attack in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Schwartz-Tayri told the news site “Times of Israel”. The attack left 1,200 people dead and 251 abducted to the Gaza Strip.
Even for professional first responders, it was difficult to apply the principles of psychological first aid they had learnt because they too were in shock, the researcher said. “You have to take a series of steps,” she explained, “but you yourself are overwhelmed by what you see.” In many cases, first responders left the scene feeling unable to help, which only exacerbated their own trauma, Schwartz-Tayri added.
Avoiding hospitalisation
With regard to the current conflict between Israel and Iran, she emphasised that most people suffering from shock and anxiety following missile attacks would not need to be taken to hospital if proper psychological first aid were provided on the spot. Hospitalisation could lead to a distorted memory of the event, which exacerbates the trauma.
Schwartz-Tayri: “Those affected remember their helplessness, the journey in the ambulance, their inability to act, and the fact that they were unable to look after their children. If you can reintegrate people into their everyday lives, their memory of the event changes.”
The chatbot is designed to help combat the development of trauma among citizens and first responders in Israel. However, the target group also includes Diaspora Jews who face anti-Semitic incidents abroad. In the Arab and Jewish Misrahi communities – that is, Jews with roots in Muslim countries – such support is particularly urgent. “The likelihood of someone in Arab society, particularly a man, seeking psychological help is low,” said Schwartz-Tayri.
Another area of application for the app is Arabs in the Gulf states. Since the start of the current war between Israel and the US against Iran, many Gulf Arabs have been confronted with mass trauma events for the first time. In early March, the laboratory held a webinar for Arabic-speaking participants, which was attended by over 100 people. Schwartz-Tayri hopes that the application can be promoted in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain through the Israeli embassies there and advertised in English to diaspora communities.
Source: israelnetz (in German) | Author: Jörn Schumacher