Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray
Background Fort McMurray, a city in northern Alberta, Canada, has experienced multiple traumatic events in the last five years, including the 2016 wildfire, the 2020 floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatic events often lead to increased mental health burdens in affected communities. Objective T...
Published in: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ee4e72a51f8b40099eaca8c594b906ab 2023-05-15T16:17:34+02:00 Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray Belinda Agyapong Reham Shalaby Ejemai Eboreime Gloria Obuobi-Donkor Ernest Owusu Medard K. Adu Wanying Mao Folajinmi Oluwasina Vincent I. O. Agyapong 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/article/ee4e72a51f8b40099eaca8c594b906ab EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/toc/2000-8066 2000-8066 doi:10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/article/ee4e72a51f8b40099eaca8c594b906ab European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol 13, Iss 1 (2022) anxiety trauma mental health depression post-traumatic stress floods covid-19 wildfire Psychiatry RC435-571 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 2023-02-26T01:32:43Z Background Fort McMurray, a city in northern Alberta, Canada, has experienced multiple traumatic events in the last five years, including the 2016 wildfire, the 2020 floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatic events often lead to increased mental health burdens in affected communities. Objective To assess if the number of traumatic events experienced by residents of Fort McMurray correlates with the prevalence and severity of mental health issues experienced. Methodology A cross-sectional study using an online survey questionnaire was used to gather demographic, trauma (wildfire, flooding, and COVID-19), and clinical information from the resident of Fort McMurray between April 24 to June 2 2021. Likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and low resilience were measured using standardised rating scales. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 26 using Chi-Square tests and multivariate regression analysis. Results Respondents who experienced COVID-19 and either flood or wildfire traumas (N = 101) were eleven times more likely to have GAD symptoms (OR: 11.39; 95% CI: 1.43–91.04), four times more likely to have likely MDD, (OR: 3.85; 95% CI: .995–14.90), ten times more likely to have likely PTSD (OR: 10.47; 95% CI: 1.28–85.67), and low resilience (OR: 10.56; 95% CI: 1.21–92.17). Respondents who experienced COVID-19, flooding, and wildfire traumas (N = 47) were eighteen times more likely to express GAD symptoms (OR: 18.30; 95% CI: 2.20–152.45) and more than eleven times likely to have likely PTSD (OR: 11.41; 95% CI: 1.34–97.37) in comparison to the respondents who experienced COVID-19 only trauma (N = 19). Conclusion Measures to reduce climate change and associated natural disasters could reduce the impact of cumulative trauma and associated mental health burden in vulnerable populations. It is essential that more mental health resources are mobilised to support communities impacted by multiple natural disasters. HIGHLIGHTS The number of traumatic ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Fort McMurray Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Fort McMurray Canada European Journal of Psychotraumatology 13 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
anxiety trauma mental health depression post-traumatic stress floods covid-19 wildfire Psychiatry RC435-571 |
spellingShingle |
anxiety trauma mental health depression post-traumatic stress floods covid-19 wildfire Psychiatry RC435-571 Belinda Agyapong Reham Shalaby Ejemai Eboreime Gloria Obuobi-Donkor Ernest Owusu Medard K. Adu Wanying Mao Folajinmi Oluwasina Vincent I. O. Agyapong Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
topic_facet |
anxiety trauma mental health depression post-traumatic stress floods covid-19 wildfire Psychiatry RC435-571 |
description |
Background Fort McMurray, a city in northern Alberta, Canada, has experienced multiple traumatic events in the last five years, including the 2016 wildfire, the 2020 floods, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatic events often lead to increased mental health burdens in affected communities. Objective To assess if the number of traumatic events experienced by residents of Fort McMurray correlates with the prevalence and severity of mental health issues experienced. Methodology A cross-sectional study using an online survey questionnaire was used to gather demographic, trauma (wildfire, flooding, and COVID-19), and clinical information from the resident of Fort McMurray between April 24 to June 2 2021. Likely Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and low resilience were measured using standardised rating scales. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 26 using Chi-Square tests and multivariate regression analysis. Results Respondents who experienced COVID-19 and either flood or wildfire traumas (N = 101) were eleven times more likely to have GAD symptoms (OR: 11.39; 95% CI: 1.43–91.04), four times more likely to have likely MDD, (OR: 3.85; 95% CI: .995–14.90), ten times more likely to have likely PTSD (OR: 10.47; 95% CI: 1.28–85.67), and low resilience (OR: 10.56; 95% CI: 1.21–92.17). Respondents who experienced COVID-19, flooding, and wildfire traumas (N = 47) were eighteen times more likely to express GAD symptoms (OR: 18.30; 95% CI: 2.20–152.45) and more than eleven times likely to have likely PTSD (OR: 11.41; 95% CI: 1.34–97.37) in comparison to the respondents who experienced COVID-19 only trauma (N = 19). Conclusion Measures to reduce climate change and associated natural disasters could reduce the impact of cumulative trauma and associated mental health burden in vulnerable populations. It is essential that more mental health resources are mobilised to support communities impacted by multiple natural disasters. HIGHLIGHTS The number of traumatic ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belinda Agyapong Reham Shalaby Ejemai Eboreime Gloria Obuobi-Donkor Ernest Owusu Medard K. Adu Wanying Mao Folajinmi Oluwasina Vincent I. O. Agyapong |
author_facet |
Belinda Agyapong Reham Shalaby Ejemai Eboreime Gloria Obuobi-Donkor Ernest Owusu Medard K. Adu Wanying Mao Folajinmi Oluwasina Vincent I. O. Agyapong |
author_sort |
Belinda Agyapong |
title |
Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
title_short |
Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
title_full |
Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
title_fullStr |
Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
title_full_unstemmed |
Cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of Fort McMurray |
title_sort |
cumulative trauma from multiple natural disasters increases mental health burden on residents of fort mcmurray |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/article/ee4e72a51f8b40099eaca8c594b906ab |
geographic |
Fort McMurray Canada |
geographic_facet |
Fort McMurray Canada |
genre |
Fort McMurray |
genre_facet |
Fort McMurray |
op_source |
European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol 13, Iss 1 (2022) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/toc/2000-8066 2000-8066 doi:10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 https://doaj.org/article/ee4e72a51f8b40099eaca8c594b906ab |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2022.2059999 |
container_title |
European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766003443325992960 |