Article type
Abstract
Introduction:
Climate change poses a critical threat to human health, impacting mental well-being alongside physical consequences. Mental health issues arising from climate change-related disasters include conditions like PTSD, depression, etc especially in vulnerable populations. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, there is a need to identify effective interventions to mitigate the mental health impacts of climate change.
We conducted a comprehensive literature search in MEDLINE, EBSCO CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EMBASE till Feb 2024. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs), quasi-experimental studies and before-after study designs were included. Studies that assessed interventions for the management of mental health symptoms after climate change or an extreme climatic disaster were considered relevant. We conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4. The Cochrane ROB2 tool was used to assess risk of bias in RCTs and ROBINS tool for all other studies.
Our search yielded 11083 references which were screened by titles and full texts; forty-one studies were ultimately included. All interventions were implemented in a post-disaster setting; disasters included wildfire, flood, cyclone, hurricane, tsunami, tornado and typhoon. PTSD symptoms (SMD -1.96, 95% CI [-2.74;-1.19], 12 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -0.61, 95% CI[-1.01;-0.21] 7 before- after studies), depression symptoms (SMD -0.87, 95% CI [-1.41;-0.33], 6 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -1.08, 95% CI [-1.49;-0.66], 11 before- after studies), anxiety symptoms (SMD -0.38, 95% CI [-0.69;-0.06] 2 studies) and (SMD -0.35, 95% CI [-0.47;-0.24], 8 before- after studies), stress symptoms (SMD -0.25, 95% CI [-0.44;-0.05], 3 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -0.80, 95% CI [-0.92;-0.67], 3 before- after studies), general functioning impairment (SMD -0.60, 95% CI [-0.89;-0.30], 7 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -1.41, 95% CI [-1.79;-1.03], 2 before- after studies), wellbeing (SMD of 0.36, 95% CI [0.04;0.68], 5 intervention-control studies) and (SMD 0.79, 95% CI [0.47;1.12], 2 before- after studies) showed significant improvement after implementation of mental health interventions.
Integrating mental health into climate adaptation and disaster preparedness is vital for mitigating the impact of climate-related disasters. As the frequency of climate change related disasters increases, it is important to implement evidence-based interventions especially in disaster prone areas.
Climate change poses a critical threat to human health, impacting mental well-being alongside physical consequences. Mental health issues arising from climate change-related disasters include conditions like PTSD, depression, etc especially in vulnerable populations. As the effects of climate change become more pronounced, there is a need to identify effective interventions to mitigate the mental health impacts of climate change.
Methods:
We conducted a comprehensive literature search in MEDLINE, EBSCO CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and EMBASE till Feb 2024. Randomized controlled trials(RCTs), quasi-experimental studies and before-after study designs were included. Studies that assessed interventions for the management of mental health symptoms after climate change or an extreme climatic disaster were considered relevant. We conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4. The Cochrane ROB2 tool was used to assess risk of bias in RCTs and ROBINS tool for all other studies.
Results:
Our search yielded 11083 references which were screened by titles and full texts; forty-one studies were ultimately included. All interventions were implemented in a post-disaster setting; disasters included wildfire, flood, cyclone, hurricane, tsunami, tornado and typhoon. PTSD symptoms (SMD -1.96, 95% CI [-2.74;-1.19], 12 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -0.61, 95% CI[-1.01;-0.21] 7 before- after studies), depression symptoms (SMD -0.87, 95% CI [-1.41;-0.33], 6 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -1.08, 95% CI [-1.49;-0.66], 11 before- after studies), anxiety symptoms (SMD -0.38, 95% CI [-0.69;-0.06] 2 studies) and (SMD -0.35, 95% CI [-0.47;-0.24], 8 before- after studies), stress symptoms (SMD -0.25, 95% CI [-0.44;-0.05], 3 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -0.80, 95% CI [-0.92;-0.67], 3 before- after studies), general functioning impairment (SMD -0.60, 95% CI [-0.89;-0.30], 7 intervention-control studies) and (SMD -1.41, 95% CI [-1.79;-1.03], 2 before- after studies), wellbeing (SMD of 0.36, 95% CI [0.04;0.68], 5 intervention-control studies) and (SMD 0.79, 95% CI [0.47;1.12], 2 before- after studies) showed significant improvement after implementation of mental health interventions.
Conclusion:
Integrating mental health into climate adaptation and disaster preparedness is vital for mitigating the impact of climate-related disasters. As the frequency of climate change related disasters increases, it is important to implement evidence-based interventions especially in disaster prone areas.