Table 1. Overview of existing guidelines.

	Guideline	Topic	Recommendations based on	Search	Search strategy [number of references screened]	Included studies concerning PFA interventions	Guideline development	AGREE II score* (methodology) %
Bisson 2010	TENTS Guidelines (The European Network for Traumatic Stress)	Immediate response after natural and other disasters	a systematic review	MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, HMIC, INSPEC, Journals@Ovid, British Nursing Index Archive, AMED, All EBM Reviews; World wide web	(Disaster OR "major traumatic event" OR catastrophe OR earthquake OR flood OR terrorism OR tsunami OR hurricane OR fire OR tornado) AND ("mental health" OR PTSD OR "traumatic stress" OR psychological OR social) AND ("clinical trial" OR meta-analysis OR "randomized clinical trial" OR "phase I" OR "phase II" OR "phase III" OR "phase IV" OR "comparative study" OR "controlled clinical trial" OR cohort OR longitudinal) [650 references]	Boscarino 2006; Hodgkinson 1993; Najarian 2001; Thienkrua 2006; Van Griensven 2006; Wolmer 2005	Delphi process; guidelines are result of consensus of expert opinion guided by the evidence available; European context; Experts are TENTS partners with expertise in the trauma field.	53
Kelly 2010	Mental Health First Aid Guidelines	Appropriate early mental support after a traumatic event by laypersons	a literature search, NOT a systematic review	PsycINFO, MEDLINE; to identify first aid actions, no quality assessment; World wide web (Google); Amazon books; Pamphlets from aid organisations; guidelines for professionals, training course	trauma*; 'traumatic event' (Google); 'traum' OR 'posttraumatic stress disorder' (Amazon) [not applicable]	NA	Delphi process; guidelines are result of consensus of expert opinion; the panel included: Professionals, consumers, carers from ENG speaking countries (UK, NZ, Australia, Canada, US); the literature was used to develop statements in the questionnaire for the Delphi process.	35
Hobfoll 2007	Mid-term Mass Trauma Guidelines	Interventions during the immediate and the mid–term post mass trauma phases	studies from related fields of research (extrapolation)	NA	NA	NA	Recommendations based on consensus by a worldwide panel of experts on the study and treatment of those exposed to disaster and mass violence.	20
Te Brake 2009	National Guidelines on Psychosocial Interventions	Early psychosocial interventions after disasters, terrorism and other shocking events	a systematic review	NGC, GIN, Cochrane, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Pilots	‘disasters’, ‘terrorism’, ‘acute posttraumatic stress’, ‘acute psychological interventions’, ‘crisis care’, ‘brief interventions’, ‘debriefing’[not mentioned]	a) Supportive context: no studies b) Psychosocial interventions: Information: no studies; Psycho-education:[Ehlers 2003; Turpin 2005; Sijbrandij 2007; Everly 2002; Roberts 2006]; PFA and CISM: [Everly 2002; Roberts 2006]	Recommendations based on available evidence from literature and additional considerations from the panel; The panel included 21 experts (dutch healthcare professionals).	42
Vymetal 2011	EUTOPA Guidelines (European Guidelines for Target Group-Oriented Psychosocial Aftercare)	Optimal psychosocial support and care after experiencing disasters and shocking events	a systematic review	NGC, GIN, Cochrane, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Pilots	‘disasters’, ‘terrorism’, ‘acute posttraumatic stress’, ‘acute psychological interventions’, ‘crisis care’, ‘brief interventions’, ‘debriefing’ [not mentioned]	a) Supportive context: no studies b) Psychosocial interventions: Information: no studies; Psycho-education:[Rose 1999; Ehlers 2003; Turpin 2005; Sijbrandij 2007];	Recommendations based on scientific studies, along with considerations of the European and international expert panel and knowledge of the experiences of those affected.	51

*average of the scores of 2 independent reviewers, rounded to nearest whole number. NA: not applicable.