Appendix F: Training/resources for interviews 

The following training resources include an agenda for training interviewers, a customizable training presentation, safety procedures for supervisors and interviewers, an incident report template for if interviewers encounter an incident in the field, a customizable resources list template to share with participants if they need services that you are asking about in the assessment, and lists of national resources for both participants and interviewers.

Safety and Emergency Procedures for Trainers/Supervisors

The questionnaires ask respondents about some potentially sensitive experiences. This section of the training manual provides some basic information about handling respondents who become upset and emergency situations that may arise. As the trainer, you will need to work with the questionnaire coordinator and supervisors to develop specific procedures for possible emergency situations, such as encountering a suicidal respondent or reporting of child abuse. You may adapt the Safety and Emergency Procedures for Interviewers information below and share with the interviewers. You will want to ensure that each member of the assessment team has a copy of this information to reference in the field. It is not the responsibility of the supervisor or the interviewer to provide mental health treatment to respondents. If a situation arises, however, supervisors and interviewers should be prepared to make referrals for the respondent and her family. A list of resources for community members should be developed before data collection begins. This list can be handed out to respondents at the time of the interview. Make sure to provide the list of mental health resources for your team to support them during and after data collection. You may also consider arranging for a mental health consultant to be available to the assessment team on the data collection dates.

Safety and Emergency Procedures for Interviewers

(Content may be modified for the local setting) Although it is not expected that emergencies will happen often, it is your responsibility to use common sense in dangerous situations. You should always be aware of potentially dangerous situations, be prepared to get out of danger immediately, and know how and where to get assistance. For each emergency situation, you and your supervisor must complete an incident report within 24 hours of the incident.

Possible emergency situations

• Medical emergencies: Situations requiring emergency medical response or hospitalization, such as the respondent has a heart attack and needs medical treatment.
• Respondent flashbacks: Situations when a respondent who has experienced significant trauma, such as a tornado survivor, starts to feel as though she is back in the traumatic setting. In this situation, she may not respond to the interviewer.
• Suicidal behavior: Situations where a respondent describes a previous suicide attempt or a suicide plan.
• Respondent threatens to hurt or kill someone: This situation is very dangerous. Action is required if there is intent to harm a specific person. The respondent may become dangerous or violent in the interview.
• Suspected child or elder abuse: Suspicions of current child or elder abuse should be immediately reported to the supervisor.

If you find yourself in an emergency situation:

• If the situation is dangerous, the interviewer should leave immediately and call the police.
• Always contact the supervisor for each incident.