Impact of repeat flooding on mental health and health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional analysis of the English National Study of Flooding and Health

French, Clare E; Waite, Thomas D.; Armstrong, Ben; Rubin, G. James; Beck, Charles R.; Oliver, Isabel

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031562

Cited by 33 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In the coastal context, it might be due to the underestimation of processes and its multiple factors, as well as spatio-temporal scales of evolution (Magnan et al, 2016). This corroborates the observations that repeatedly flooded individuals are more prone to depression compared with single events exposure (French et al, 2019). Thus, financial stress in our study constituted a tangible impact of coastal hazards, of limited magnitude, but which can be exacerbated by misplaced expenses related to coastal protection.…”

Section: Financial Stresssupporting

confidence: 86%

Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts From Coastal Hazards for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Eastern Quebec, Canada

Boyer-Villemaire¹,

Kanli²,

Ledoux³

et al. 2021

Front. Clim.

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The assessment of psychosocial impacts related to coastal hazards (erosion, submersion) has so far been mainly qualitative. As cost-benefit analysis is gaining popularity among communities to assess adaptation options in the face of increasing coastal hazards, there is a need to develop quantitative indicators to improve the inclusion of human impacts in decision-making. The project therefore aimed to suggest quantitative indicators for a cost-benefit analysis in the Lower St. Lawrence region exposed to the waters of the estuary of the St. Lawrence River in eastern Quebec, Canada. A systematic survey of five municipalities was conducted in 2019 (n = 101). In general, the prevalence of mental health impacts was the double than that of physical health (30 vs. 14%); and was higher for affected respondents: 50.0 and 23.9%, against 13.5 and 5.8% for unaffected respondents.With regards to psychosocial impacts, the main results were that affected people were 2.33 more stressed in normal times than unaffected respondents and this variation increased to 3.54 during a storm surge warning;the quality of sleep of affected respondents when a storm warning is issued was 2.39 poorer than that of unaffected respondents.With regards with economic impacts, an additional 11% in absenteeism has been observed among respondents affected;the likelihood of experiencing financial difficulties was 1.27 higher for those affected;a small subgroup of affected respondents (<10) declared a mean of 400 CAD of additional health expenses.The results show that the assistance received provides little protection against stress, or even increases it, if it is mainly financial. In addition, a high degree of social isolation and living alone increases stress in the face of hazards. Thus, social capital and psychosocial assistance act as a protective factor in reducing psychosocial impacts. The probability of financial stress, on the other hand, increases in the event of maladaptation (inefficient adaptation expenditures leading to repair costs). Overall, the importance of the impacts measured justifies further economical investigation for their inclusion in the cost-benefit analysis.

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Section: Financial Stresssupporting

confidence: 86%

Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts From Coastal Hazards for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Eastern Quebec, Canada

Boyer-Villemaire¹,

Kanli²,

Ledoux³

et al. 2021

Front. Clim.

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“…The majority of studies described anxiety, depression, PTSD, suicide ideation and psychological distress as the main mental health morbidities reported by respondents as a consequence of the flood event [ 15 , 16 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 ]. There was no report in any of the references on the mental health condition of the respondents prior to the event.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water depth in the house was associated with increased risk of psychological distress [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 34 ] and an increased number of attendances at GP surgeries [ 35 ]. Repeated flooding affected individuals differently: some presented increased symptoms of PTSD and anxiety [ 16 ], whilst others reported the same increased odds of psychological morbidity if exposed to a single event or repeated ones [ 26 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Extreme Weather Events on Mental Health: A Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis for the UK

Cruz

White

Bell

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity as a consequence of climate change and pose a significant threat to population mental health. This is the case even in temperate regions such as the United Kingdom (UK) where flooding and heat waves are forecast to become more common. We conducted a systematic review to quantify the prevalence and describe the causes of common mental health problems in populations exposed to extreme weather events in the UK. We searched Web of Science, EMBASE and PsycINFO for studies that measured the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in populations exposed to extreme weather events in the UK, published up to 12 December 2019. We included 17 studies, four of which were included in meta-analyses to determine the point prevalence of common mental health problems in the period within 12 months following extreme weather events. The point prevalence was 19.8% for anxiety (k = 4; n = 1458; 95% CI 7.42 to 32.15), 21.35% for depression (k = 4; n = 1458; 95% CI 9.04 to 33.65) and 30.36% for PTSD (k = 4; n = 1359; 95% CI 11.68 to 49.05). Key factors that affected mental ill health in people exposed to flooding were water depth and absence of flood warnings. Displacement from home underscored the narratives associated with people’s perceptions of the impact of flooding. The high prevalence of common mental health problems suggests that the prevention of mental ill health in populations at risk or exposed to extreme weather events should be a UK public health priority.

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“…• Empowering citizens and communities to collect their own data, understand and identify problems, promote behavior change and provide more frequent data points; • Protocols that prioritize sampling during extreme flood events, which have shown to cause more widespread disease; although not identified in this review, there is growing evidence of links between experiencing flooding and mental health (e.g., Fernandez et al, 2015;French et al, 2019); • Exploration for data proxies or alternative mechanisms to collect samples e.g., using drones during periods of inaccessibility.…”

Section: Key Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an Integrated Approach to Improve the Understanding of the Relationships Between Water-Borne Infections and Health Outcomes: Using Malaysia as a Detailed Case Study

Lavinya

Kay

et al. 2022

Front. Water

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As in many low- and middle-income countries around the world, thousands of local communities in Southeast Asia rely on river water to sustain their livelihoods. However, poor water quality threatens the health of both humans and ecosystems. The aim of this review was to examine the available literature to investigate how health outcomes in Malaysia have been studied and reported as directly attributable to human infections from river water. Computer-aided searches from 10 electronic databases were undertaken, with searches limited to the English language and publication dates since January 2010. The literature search revealed that the predominant river water infections identified in Malaysia were bacterial (coliforms, Salmonella spp., typhoid, leptospirosis, melioidosis), viral (including dengue, hepatitis, enterovirus), parasitic infections including amoebiasis, giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis, helminth infections, Blastocystis infections and sarcocystosis. No studies were found that have attempted to evaluate the impact of water related infection on human health longitudinally. Moreover, the possibility of integrated water governance systems that could reduce infection and improve water quality, particularly for marginalized groups have not been discussed or studied. Several cross-sectional studies identified infections at a point in time, but large longitudinal data sets of water infection parameters and how they influence human health outcomes have not been reported. Using Malaysia as a demonstration case study, we suggest a number of recommendations based on using a systems approach to tackle the challenges involved in data collection and integration, which is central to the understanding, strategic planning and management of water-borne infections.

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Impact of repeat flooding on mental health and health-related quality of life: a cross-sectional analysis of the English National Study of Flooding and Health

Cited by 33 publications

References 32 publications

Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts From Coastal Hazards for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Eastern Quebec, Canada

Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts From Coastal Hazards for Cost-Benefit Analysis in Eastern Quebec, Canada

Effect of Extreme Weather Events on Mental Health: A Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis for the UK

Towards an Integrated Approach to Improve the Understanding of the Relationships Between Water-Borne Infections and Health Outcomes: Using Malaysia as a Detailed Case Study

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