A mixed-methods study of psychological distress following an environmental catastrophe: the case of the Hazelwood open-cut coalmine fire in Australia

Abstract

Objectives: This mixed method study assessed the psychological impacts of six weeks of exposure to smoke and ash from the 2014 Hazelwood mine fire in the Latrobe Valley in Victoria, Australia.The quantitative component compared residents from the most exposed community (Morwell) with those from a similar, but minimally-exposed, control community (Sale). Qualities of the experience were examined in interviews with Morwell residents. Methods:A cross-sectional survey involved 3,091 Morwell and 960 Sale adults with multiple psychological measures was complimented by 26 interviews with Morwell residents.Results: Morwell residents scored significantly higher than Sale residents on the primary outcome measure, the Impact of Event Scale -Revised (difference = 6.53; 95%CI: 5.37, 7.35, p<0.001), which measured the posttraumatic stress symptoms of intrusive rumination, hyperarousal and avoidance behaviour. Morwell residents also scored significantly higher on the Kessler 10-item general distress scale (difference = 1.69; 95%CI: 1.05, 2.33, p<0.001). On average, the Hazelwood mine fire continued to generate moderate levels of participant distress more than two years after the event, however this ranged from no impact to more severe distress. This range of impact was also evident in the qualitative interviews, where intrusive thoughts were the most frequently reported symptom of posttraumatic stress. The interviews highlighted the increased vulnerability of people with pre-existing mental health concerns. Conclusions:The finding that moderate distress was apparent in the community several years after an extended community-wide pollution event highlights the need for improving response to such events, including providing support to more vulnerable subgroups.

Mental distress in orthodontic patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

“…Our study revealed that 38% (174/458) of the participants had mental distress, which was relatively worse compared with previous studies. 7 , 15 The mean value of this study (18.38) was relatively higher than the mean value (16.66) of 3091 residents with 6 weeks of smoke exposure from an open-cut coalmine fire, 16 which indicated the severely adverse effects of this pandemic on mental health.…”

Differences of psychological status of TMD patients, orthodontic patients and the general population during the COVID-19 epidemic: a cross-sectional study

“…This study analyzed anxiety and depression of 1241 respondents, with 587 orthodontic patients and 220 TMD patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. The average K10 score of all respondents was 18.65 with a median of 17.0, which was noticeably higher compared with normative population 13,14 , and even residents experienced environmental catastrophe 15 . Though there might be difference between races, it was quite evident that the epidemic had severe adverse effects on mental health.…”

The factors associated with distress following exposure to smoke from an extended coal mine fire

“…In the context of psychological health, exposure to PM2.5 has been associated with an increased risk of both general and phobia-related anxiety (Power et al, 2015), depression (Kioumourtzoglou et al, 2017;Ren, Yu, & Yang, 2019), and general psychological distress (Gu, Yan, Elahi, & Cao, 2020;Sass et al, 2017) regardless of the individual's awareness of their exposure. However, to date, very limited research has investigated the impact of exposure to smoke emanating from coalmine fires on psychological health (Jones, Lee, Maybery, & McFarlane, 2018;Maybery et al, 2020).…”

“…Earlier qualitative research undertaken by the HHS (Jones et al, 2018) found that residents in Morwell had experienced uncertainty and ambivalence during the prolonged Hazelwood mine fire event, which was likely to have had an adverse impact on their psychological health. In a larger, epidemiological study, the HHS compared the psychological health of individuals from Morwell with a control-group of residents from the relatively unexposed, but otherwise demographically similar, town of Sale (Maybery et al, 2020). The researchers found that, more than two years after the Hazelwood mine fire event, Morwell residents experienced significantly more distress specifically related to the incident (also known as posttraumatic distress or event-related distress) than Sale residents.…”

“…The current research aimed to investigate the effects of varying levels of exposure to PM2.5 released from the Hazelwood mine fire event on the development of long-term symptoms of posttraumatic distress, as well as the contribution of other known risk factors such as age, prior mental health and traumatic exposures, and chronic respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Based on the observed relationship between PM2.5 exposure and psychopathology (Gu et al, 2020;Kioumourtzoglou et al, 2017;Power et al, 2015;Ren et al, 2019;Sass et al, 2017), and existing evidence of the psychological impact of mine fire disasters (Jones et al, 2018;Kroll-Smith, 1990;Maybery et al, 2020), we hypothesised that a positive exposure-response relationship would be observed between levels of PM2.5 exposure and symptoms of posttraumatic distress. Morwell residents were also compared to residents from Sale to assess for any impact of residing in Morwell at the time of the event over and above the distress attributable to PM2.5 exposure.…”