Addressing Mental Health in a Changing Climate: Incorporating Mental Health Indicators into Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments

Hayes, Katie; Poland, Blake

doi:10.3390/ijerph15091806

Cited by 110 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Mental health has been recognized as a major concern in the context of climate change [1][2][3][4], reflected in burgeoning research, programming, and public interest [1,2,[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. There are many known and anticipated causal pathways through which climate change and the resultant environmental shifts impact mental health, including: acute trauma and distress resulting directly from exposure to severe weather events [5]; disruptions to the underlying determinants of mental health, such as physical health, infrastructure, and social capital [e.g .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

Middleton

Cunsolo

Jones‐Bitton

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

113

102

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Indigenous Peoples globally are among those who are most acutely experiencing the mental health impacts of climate change; however, little is known about the ways in which Indigenous Peoples globally experience climate-sensitive mental health impacts and outcomes, and how these experiences may vary depending on local socio-cultural contexts, geographical location, and regional variations in climate change. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine the extent, range, and nature of published research investigating the ways in which global Indigenous mental health is impacted by meteorological, seasonal, and climatic changes. Following a systematic scoping review protocol, three electronic databases were searched. To be included, articles had to be empirical research published since 2007 (i.e. since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report); explicitly discuss Indigenous Peoples and describe factors related to climatic variables and mental health. Descriptive data from relevant articles were extracted, and the articles were thematically analyzed. Fifty articles were included for full review. Most primary research articles described research in Canada (38%), Australia (24%), and the United States of America (10%), with the number of articles increasing over time. Mental health outcomes such as strong emotional responses, suicide, depression, and anxiety were linked to changes in meteorological factors, seasonality, and exposure to both acute and chronic weather events. The literature also reported on the ways in which the emotional and psychological impacts of climate were connected to changing place attachment, disrupted cultural continuity, altered food security and systems, forced human mobility, and intangible loss and damages. This review highlights global considerations for Indigenous mental health in relation to climate change, which can support Indigenous-driven initiatives and decisionmaking to enhance mental wellness in a changing climate.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

Middleton

Cunsolo

Jones‐Bitton

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

113

102

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As noted above, while two thirds of the V&As reviewed by WHO indicated intent to use the findings to inform health adaptation planning, only one third identified specific populations vulnerable to climate change health impacts. In addition, Hayes and Poland [62] suggest that many V&As have not included investigation of mental health impacts of climate change, a growing concern among health authorities. Decision makers are therefore often not receiving needed evidence-based information to develop targeted public health interventions to prepare for climate change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Health Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change: A Review of International Progress

Berry

Enright

Shumake-Guillemot

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Climate change is increasing risks to human health and to the health systems that seek to protect the safety and well-being of populations. Health authorities require information about current associations between health outcomes and weather or climate, vulnerable populations, projections of future risks and adaptation opportunities in order to reduce exposures, empower individuals to take needed protective actions and build climate-resilient health systems. An increasing number of health authorities from local to national levels seek this information by conducting climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments. While assessments can provide valuable information to plan for climate change impacts, the results of many studies are not helping to build the global evidence-base of knowledge in this area. They are also often not integrated into adaptation decision making, sometimes because the health sector is not involved in climate change policy making processes at the national level. Significant barriers related to data accessibility, a limited number of climate and health models, uncertainty in climate projections, and a lack of funding and expertise, particularly in developing countries, challenge health authority efforts to conduct rigorous assessments and apply the findings. This paper examines the evolution of climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including guidance developed for such projects, the number of assessments that have been conducted globally and implementation of the findings to support health adaptation action. Greater capacity building that facilitates assessments from local to national scales will support collaborative efforts to protect health from current climate hazards and future climate change. Health sector officials will benefit from additional resources and partnership opportunities to ensure that evidence about climate change impacts on health is effectively translated into needed actions to build health resilience.

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“…Berry in 2010 pointed out that climate change may directly affect mental health through exposure of its victims to trauma and indirectly through primary effects on physical health and community wellbeing 19 . An excellent and exhaustive study of the relationship of current mental health knowledge and studies related to climate change and how healthcare systems can respond has been compiled by Hayes and her colleagues 5 , 20 – 22 . In these reports, they emphasize that the amount of work relating climate change to mental health should be strengthened; for instance, at the community level, it remains understudied.…”

Section: Effects Of the Climate Crisis On Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change is a major stressor causing poor pregnancy outcomes and child development

Olson

Metz

2020

F1000Res

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The climate crisis is the existential threat of our times and for generations to come. This is no longer a threat but a reality affecting us, our children, and the generations that follow. Pregnant mothers, their fetuses, and their children are among those at greatest risk in every population and every jurisdiction. A timely consideration is the health of racialized groups who are particularly vulnerable owing to the confluence of several risk factors that are compounded by climate change. Included among these are Indigenous communities that are the most directly threatened by climate change. This review discusses the main health challenges faced by mothers, fathers, and their children during the climate crisis, focusing on mental health as a causal factor. Exploration of this topic includes the role of prenatal maternal and paternal stresses, allostatic load, and the effect of degradation of the environment and ecosystems on individuals. These will be examined in relation to adverse pregnancy outcomes and altered developmental trajectories of children. The climate crisis is a health threat multiplier that amplifies the health inequities of the most at-risk populations and individuals. It accelerates the increase in allostatic load of those at risk. The path of tragedy begins with an accumulating allostatic load that overwhelms both individual and socio-ecological resilience. This can lead to worse mental health including depression and anxiety and, in the case of pregnant women and their children, more adverse pregnancy outcomes and impaired developmental trajectories for their newborn children. We argue that there is an urgent need to develop new (or re-discover or re-purpose existing) tools that will predict communities and individuals who are experiencing the highest levels of climate-related hazards and intervene to reduce stress and increase resilience in pre-conceptual women and men, pregnant and post-partum women, and their young children.

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Addressing Mental Health in a Changing Climate: Incorporating Mental Health Indicators into Climate Change and Health Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessments

Cited by 110 publications

References 48 publications

Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

Assessing Health Vulnerabilities and Adaptation to Climate Change: A Review of International Progress

Climate change is a major stressor causing poor pregnancy outcomes and child development

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