Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T14:05:28.421Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 11 - Mental Health in the Context of Multiple Exposures to Disasters

from Section 1 - The Nature and Impacts of Twenty-First-Century Healthcare Emergencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

Richard Williams
Affiliation:
University of South Wales
Verity Kemp
Affiliation:
Independent Health Emergency Planning Consultant
Keith Porter
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Tim Healing
Affiliation:
Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London
John Drury
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Get access

Summary

Most disaster research, resources, and interventions for mental health have been based on the premise of a single incident or disaster occurring. This chapter presents the results of a scoping review on mental health in the aftermath of multiple disaster exposures. It draws on existing evidence from cases in which communities have experienced disasters in rapid succession or years apart. It focuses on groups of findings on cumulative effects, re-activation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and links between mental and physical health. This chapter makes the case that multiple disaster exposures have different implications to exposure to a single disaster, and should be treated as a priority emerging public health issue, given the projected increases in the frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change.

Type
Chapter
Information
Major Incidents, Pandemics and Mental Health
The Psychosocial Aspects of Health Emergencies, Incidents, Disasters and Disease Outbreaks
, pp. 58 - 62
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Shultz, JM, Berg, RC, Kossin, JP, Burkle Jr, F, Maggioni, A, Pinilla Escobar, VA, et al. Convergence of climate-driven hurricanes and COVID-19: the impact of 2020 hurricanes Eta and Iota on Nicaragua. J Clim Chang Health 2021; 3: 100019.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leppold, C, Gibbs, L, Block, K, Reifels, L, Quinn, P. Public health implications of multiple disaster exposures. Lancet Public Health 2022; 7: e274–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Summary for Policymakers. IPCC, 2021 (www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/).Google Scholar
Renaldi, E. Indonesia’s latest natural disasters are a ‘wake-up call’, environmentalists say. ABC News, 21 January 2021 (www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-22/indonesia-hit-by-series-of-disasters-in-the-first-weeks-of-2021/13075930).Google Scholar
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Sendai Framework Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction: Disaster. UNDRR, undated (www.undrr.org/terminology/disaster).Google Scholar
Reifels, L, Spittal, MJ, Dückers, MLA, Mills, K, Pirkis, J. Suicidality risk and (repeat) disaster exposure: findings from a nationally representative population survey. Psychiatry 2018; 81: 158–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harville, EW, Shankar, A, Schetter, CD, Lichtveld, M. Cumulative effects of the Gulf oil spill and other disasters on mental health among reproductive-aged women: the Gulf Resilience on Women’s Health Study. Psychol Trauma 2018; 10: 533–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowe, SR, McGrath, JA, Young, MN, Kwok, RK, Engel, LS, Galea, S et al. Cumulative disaster exposure and mental and physical health symptoms among a large sample of Gulf Coast residents. J Trauma Stress 2019; 32: 196205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harville, EW, Xiong, X, Smith, BW, Pridjian, G, Elkind-Hirsch, K, Buekens, P. Combined effects of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Gustav on the mental health of mothers of small children. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 2011; 18: 288–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shrira, A, Palgi, Y, Yaira, H-R, Goodwin, R, Menachem, B-E. Previous exposure to the World Trade Center terrorist attack and posttraumatic symptoms among older adults following Hurricane Sandy. Psychiatry 2014; 77: 374–85.Google Scholar
Garfin, DR, Silver, RC, Ugalde, FJ, Linn, H, Inostroza, M. Exposure to rapid succession disasters: a study of residents at the epicenter of the Chilean Bío Bío earthquake. J Abnorm Psychol 2014; 123: 545–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gargano, LM, Li, JH, Millien, L, Alper, H, Brackbill, RM. Exposure to multiple disasters: the long-term effect of Hurricane Sandy (October 29, 2012) on NYC survivors of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attack. Psychiatry Res 2019; 273: 719–24.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, J, Alper, HE, Gargano, LM, Maslow, CB, Brackbill, RM. Re-experiencing 9/11-related PTSD symptoms following exposure to Hurricane Sandy. Int J Emerg Ment Health 2018; 20. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4172/1522-4821.1000404.Google Scholar
Bromet, EJ, Clouston, S, Gonzalez, A, Kotov, R, Guerrera, KM, Luft, BJ. Hurricane Sandy exposure and the mental health of World Trade Center responders. J Trauma Stress 2017; 30: 107–14.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osofsky, HJ, Hansel, TC, Osofsky, JD, Speier, A. Factors contributing to mental and physical health care in a disaster-prone environment. Behav Med 2015; 41: 131–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayashi, F, Ohira, T, Nakano, H, Nagao, M, Okazaki, K, Harigane, M, et al. Association between post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and bone fractures after the Great East Japan Earthquake in older adults: a prospective cohort study from the Fukushima Health Management Survey. BMC Geriatr 2021; 21: 18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, JL, Pescaroli, G. Psychosocial capacity building in response to cascading disasters: a culturally informed approach. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 2018; 30: 164–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palgi, Y, Shrira, A, Hamama-Raz, Y, Palgi, S, Goodwin, R, Ben-Ezra, M. Not so close but still extremely loud: recollection of the World Trade Center terror attack and previous hurricanes moderates the association between exposure to Hurricane Sandy and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Compr Psychiatry 2014; 55: 807–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perry, RW. Disasters, definitions and theory construction. In What is a Disaster? New Answers to Old Questions (eds Perry, RW, Quarantelli, EL): 311–24. Xlibris, 2005.Google Scholar
Reid, M. Disasters and social inequalities. Sociol Compass 2013; 7: 984–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×