Beyond Bushfires: Community, Resilience and Recovery - a longitudinal mixed method study of the medium to long term impacts of bushfires on mental health and social connectedness

BMC Public Health

David Forbes²  Greg Ireton⁹  Vikki Sinnott¹  Hugh Colin Gallagher⁶  Elyse Snowdon^1,10  Karen Block^1,10  Colin MacDougall⁵  John Richardson⁴  Louise Harms³  Dean Lusher⁷  Philippa Pattison⁶  Richard A Bryant⁸  Elizabeth Waters^1,10  Lisa Gibbs^1,10 

[1]Prevention and Population Health Branch, Department of Health, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

[2]Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, University of Melbourne, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia

[3]Department of Social Work, University of Melbourne, L6 Alan Gilbert Building, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia

[4]Emergency Services, Australian Red Cross, 155 Pelham Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia

[5]Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity, and School of Medicine, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia

[6]Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3052, Australia

[7]Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 400 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia

[8]School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia

[9]Health and Human Services Emergency Management, Department of Human Services, Melbourne, Vic 3000, Australia

[10]Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, University of Melbourne, Level 5, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia

关键词: Community-based participatory research;    Qualitative research;    Epidemiologic methods;    Mental health;    Social networks;    Disasters;   

Others  :  1161590
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-13-1036

 received in 2013-08-12, accepted in 2013-10-28,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Natural disasters represent an increasing threat both in terms of incidence and severity as a result of climate change. Although much is known about individual responses to disasters, much less is known about the social and contextual response and how this interacts with individual trajectories in terms of mental health, wellbeing and social connectedness. The 2009 bushfires in Victoria, Australia caused much loss of life, property destruction, and community disturbance. In order to progress future preparedness, response and recovery, it is crucial to measure and understand the impact of disasters at both individual and community levels.

Methods/design

This study aims to profile the range of mental health, wellbeing and social impacts of the Victorian 2009 bushfires over time using multiple methodologies and involving multiple community partners. A diversity of communities including bushfire affected and unaffected will be involved in the study and will include current and former residents (at the time of the Feb 2009 fires). Participants will be surveyed in 2012, 2014 and, funding permitting, in 2016 to map the predictors and outcomes of mental health, wellbeing and social functioning. Ongoing community visits, as well as interviews and focus group discussions in 2013 and 2014, will provide both contextual information and evidence of changing individual and community experiences in the medium to long term post disaster. The study will include adults, adolescents and children over the age of 5.

Discussion

Conducting the study over five years and focussing on the role of social networks will provide new insights into the interplay between individual and community factors and their influence on recovery from natural disaster over time. The study findings will thereby expand understanding of long term disaster recovery needs for individuals and communities.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Gibbs et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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