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Mental Health Needs Assessment After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2012

Danielle Buttke ,
Sara Vagi ,
Tesfaye Bayleyegn ,
Kanta Sircar ,
Tara Strine ,
Melissa Morrison ,
Mardi Allen  and
Amy Wolkin
Danielle Buttke*
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Sara Vagi
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Tesfaye Bayleyegn
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Kanta Sircar
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Tara Strine
Affiliation:
Division of Behavioral Surveillance, Public Health Surveillance Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia USA
Melissa Morrison
Affiliation:
Career Epidemiology Field Officer Program, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia USA (assigned to the Alabama State Department of Health)
Mardi Allen
Affiliation:
Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Jackson, Mississippi USA
Amy Wolkin
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
*
Correspondence: Danielle Buttke, DVM, PhD, MPH National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4770 Buford Highway NE Chamblee, Georgia 30341 USA E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Introduction

Previous oil spills and disasters from other human-made events have shown that mental health effects to the affected population are widespread and can be significant.

Hypothesis/Problem

There has been concern regarding the likelihood that existing public health surveillance was not capturing the mental health effects to the population affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The objectives of this study were to assess the mental health needs of coastal communities in the states of Alabama and Mississippi following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Methods

A cluster sampling methodology was used to assess the mental health status of coastal residents in three counties in Alabama four months following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and in the Gulf Coast counties in Mississippi 5.5 months after the oil spill.

Results

A total of 469 residents of the selected areas were interviewed. Between 15.4 and 24.5% of the respondents reported depressive symptoms, with 21.4-31.5% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder, and 16.3-22.8% reporting ≥14 mentally unhealthy days within the past 30 days. Overall, there were more negative quality of life indicators and negative social context outcomes than in the state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Between 32.1% and 35.7% of all households reported decreased income since the oil spill, and 35.5-38.2% of all households reported having been exposed to oil.

Conclusion

The proportion of respondents reporting negative mental health parameters in the affected Alabama and Mississippi coastal communities is higher than the proportion reported in the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS state reports, suggesting that the public health response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should focus on mental health services in these communities.

ButtkeD , VagiS , BayleyegnT , SircarK , StrineT , MorrisonM , AllenM , WolkinA . Mental Health Needs Assessment After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-8.

Keywords

disastermental healthoil spill
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , October 2012 , pp. 401 - 408
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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