Prevalence Rates and Correlates of Likely Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Residents of Fort McMurray 6 Months After a Wildfire

Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku; Juhás, Michal; Omege, Joy; Denga, Edward; Nwaka, Bernard; Akinjise, Idowu; Corbett, Sandra; Brown, Matthew; Chue, Pierre; Li, Xinmin; Greenshaw, Andrew J.

doi:10.1007/s11469-019-00096-z

Cited by 27 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…Our study suggests that only three variables were independently associated with likely GAD in our study sample, namely: being fearful for own lives or the lives of friends/family, history of depressive disorder, and history of anxiety disorder. This is in contrast to the six independent factors (witnessing of homes burning, place of residence after the wildfire, preexisting anxiety disorder, perceived support from the government or family/friends, post-crisis counseling), which predicted likely GAD in the general population 6 months after the wildfires (35). Preexisting mental health issues as a predictor of GAD after a disaster are one of the most replicated findings in many studies (62–66).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Mental Health Effects in Primary Care Patients 18 Months After a Major Wildfire in Fort McMurray: Risk Increased by Social Demographic Issues, Clinical Antecedents, and Degree of Fire Exposure

et al. 2019

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Objectives: To assess prevalence of likely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in patients attending the only out-of-hours primary care clinic in Fort McMurray some 18 months following a major fire. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey was used to collect data through self-administered paper-based questionnaires to determine likely PTSD, MDD, and GAD using the PTSD Checklists for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) 5, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) 9, and GAD-7, respectively, from residents of Fort McMurray who were impacted by the wildfires. This was carried out eighteen (18) months after a major wildfire, which required the rapid evacuation of the entire city population (approximately 90,000 individuals). Results: We achieved a response rate of 48% and results from the 290 respondents showed the 1 month prevalence rate for likely PTSD was 13.6%, likely MDD was 24.8%, and likely GAD was 18.0%. Compared to self-reported prevalence rates before the wildfire (0%, 15.2%, and 14.5% respectively), these were increased for all diagnoses. After controlling for other factors in a logistic regression model, there were statistically significant associations between individuals who had likely PTSD, MDD, and GAD diagnoses and multiple socio-demographic, clinical, and exposure-related variables as follows: PTSD: History of anxiety disorder and received counselling had odds ratios (ORs) of 5.80 and 7.14, respectively. MDD: Age, witnessed the burning of homes, history of depressive disorder, and receiving low level support from friends and family had ORs of 2.08, 2.29, 4.63, and 2.5, respectively. GAD: Fearful for their lives or the lives of friends/family, history of depressive disorder, and history of anxiety disorder had ORs of 3.52, 3.04, and 2.68, respectively. There were also associations between individuals with a likely psychiatric diagnosis and those who also had likely alcohol or drug abuse/dependence. Conclusion: Our study suggests there are high prevalence rates for mental health and addiction conditions in patients attending the out-of-hours clinic 18 months after the wildfires, with significant associations between multiple variables and likely PTSD, MDD, and GAD. Further studies are needed to explore the impact of population-based mental health interventions on the long-term mental health effects of the wildfires.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Mental Health Effects in Primary Care Patients 18 Months After a Major Wildfire in Fort McMurray: Risk Increased by Social Demographic Issues, Clinical Antecedents, and Degree of Fire Exposure

et al. 2019

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“…This result is consistent with studies on participants with anxiety and depression and PTSD sufferers who have gone through various types of traumatic events which found self-reliance to be respectively the most and second most prevalent barrier to obtaining care (Koenen et al 2003 ; van Beljouw et al 2010 ). The importance of the self-reliance barrier is consistent with the tendency in people to deal with psychological difficulties using personal coping strategies as opposed to validated treatments: insomnia sufferers will often try self-help methods before seeking professional help, such as herbal products and relaxation (Morin et al 2006 ) and those exposed to natural disasters will often report an elevated use of alcohol and other substances (Agyapong et al 2018 , 2019 ; Bryant et al 2014 ). A tendency to seek informal help (e.g., from friends and family) rather that professional help after a disaster was also reported (Carr et al 1997 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Studies have shown an increased risk for natural disaster victims to develop psychological difficulties such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, or insomnia (Laugharne et al 2011 ). Recent studies have shown one-month prevalence rates of likely PTSD and major depressive disorder of respectively 12.8% and 14.8% six months after the Fort McMurray fires (Agyapong et al 2018 , 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Portrait of Mental Health Services Utilization and Perceived Barriers to Care in Men and Women Evacuated During the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires

Binet

Ouellet

Lebel

et al. 2021

Adm Policy Ment Health

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This study examines the influence of gender on mental health services utilization and on perceived barriers to treatment one year after the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires. Data was collected through a phone survey from May to July 2017 ( N = 1510). Participants were English-speaking evacuees aged 18 and older. Mental health services utilization and barriers to mental health care were assessed with the Perceived Need for Care questionnaire. Probable diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression and insomnia were assessed with validated self-report questionnaires. Multiple logistic regressions confirmed that gender was a significant predictor of services utilization, after controlling for associated sociodemographic variables and presence of probable diagnoses. Women were respectively 1.50, 1.55 and 1.86 times more likely than men to receive information, medication and psychological help. Self-reliance was the most frequently reported reason for not receiving help, and motivational barriers, such as pessimism and stigma, were reported in a higher proportion than structural barriers, including nonresponse and finance. No significant gender differences were found in the types of perceived barriers to services. Among the Fort McMurray fire evacuees, mental health services utilization was similar to other studies on natural disaster victims, and higher in women than in men. Efforts to increase services utilization in natural disaster victims should focus on motivational barriers and offering treatments fostering people’s autonomy, such as online treatments. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10488-021-01114-w .

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“…Agyapong et al (27,91) To assess likely prevalence of PTSD in residents of Fort McMurray 6 months after a wildfire and to determine the predictors of likely PTSD in the respondents.…”

Section: References Study Aims Methods Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Females have consistently been regarded as one of the key factors for post-disaster mental health problems (21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Many researches indicate that, psychological adverse consequences of disasters, such as PTSD and depression, are usually more serious for women survivors (6,13,(26)(27)(28). Others like Brewin et al (29) found that factors such as gender predicted PTSD in some populations but not in others.…”

Section: Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Social Determinants in Mental Health and Resilience After Disasters: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice

Mao

Agyapong

2021

Front. Public Health

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In this general literature review, we will explore the impacts and contribution of social determinants to mental health and resiliency following both natural and man-made disasters. Natural disasters, such as wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, as well as man-made disasters, such as civil wars, have been known to inflict significant damage to the mental health of the victims. In this paper, we mainly explore some most studied vulnerability and protective social determinant factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, socials support and socioeconomic status for the mental health and resiliency in survivors of such disasters. Several other possible factors such as previous trauma, childhood abuse, family psychiatric history, and subsequent life stress that were explored by some studies were also discussed. We conducted a literature search in major scientific databases, using keywords such as: mental health, social determinants, disasters, wildfires, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and resilience. We discuss the implications for public health policy and practice.

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Prevalence Rates and Correlates of Likely Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Residents of Fort McMurray 6 Months After a Wildfire

Cited by 27 publications

References 64 publications

Mental Health Effects in Primary Care Patients 18 Months After a Major Wildfire in Fort McMurray: Risk Increased by Social Demographic Issues, Clinical Antecedents, and Degree of Fire Exposure

Mental Health Effects in Primary Care Patients 18 Months After a Major Wildfire in Fort McMurray: Risk Increased by Social Demographic Issues, Clinical Antecedents, and Degree of Fire Exposure

A Portrait of Mental Health Services Utilization and Perceived Barriers to Care in Men and Women Evacuated During the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires

The Role of Social Determinants in Mental Health and Resilience After Disasters: Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice

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