Conflict exposure and health: Evidence from the Gaza Strip

Maio, Michele Di; Sciabolazza, Valerio Leone

doi:10.1002/hec.4364

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Our analyses suggest that emotion-mediated behavior changes can spread the impact of crises into unrelated domains. Threats such as climate change, conflicts, pandemics, and natural disasters affect behavior directly by changing the costs of actions like going to work or to the doctor's office [50]. However, our findings suggest that-even beyond the fear of contracting COVID-19 a visit to a healthcare facility-these crises change behavior in ways that are not directly tied to the crisis and that may amplify problems in other important domains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…An increase in the number of crises that humanity faces may generate emotional responses that affect decision-making in a host of important domains. Disease outbreaks and pandemics [45,46], climate change [47], political polarization [48], and conflicts [49,50] all evoke strong emotions and may affect decision-making in ways that are not clearly tied to the crisis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of acute crises-such as climate change-related extreme weather events, pandemics, or conflict-has been documented to affect individuals' physical ability to access medical care [50]; impact health directly [50,63]; have long-term mental health effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder [64]; and decrease material well-being [65]. Our research suggests that there are also important crisis-driven changes in behavior that may influence decisionmaking in ways that can threaten future health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase avoidance of health information and access to care

Gustafson¹,

Brooks²,

Meerza³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic, like other crises, has had direct and indirect impacts on people’s lives, many of which have been negative. However, there is little evidence about how COVID-19 affects decision-making. Emotional responses to COVID-19- related stressors, such as local cases and income loss, provide a pathway for these stressors to affect decision-making. In this study, we examine linkages between exposure to COVID-19-related stressors—focusing on temporally specific local case counts and loss of income due to the pandemic—and behaviors for important health decisions with both individual (accessing health care) and societal (accessing information about antimicrobial resistance (AMR)) relevance. In the analysis of two health behaviors that use data from 1) a custom AMR survey and 2) the U.S. Census’s Household Pulse Survey, which asked about accessing healthcare, we find that exposure to COVID-19 stressors significantly increases feelings of hopelessness. Higher levels of hopelessness are associated with an increased probability of avoiding health information about AMR and foregoing or delaying needed medical care. Mediation analysis confirms that hopelessness is an important pathway through which COVID-19-related stressors affect avoidance behaviors. Our results suggest that large- scale crises may diminish action on other important personal and societal health issues facing humanity through emotion-mediated changes in decision-making.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase avoidance of health information and access to care

Gustafson¹,

Brooks²,

Meerza³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…An increase in the number of crises that humanity faces may generate emotional responses that affect decision-making in a host of important domains. Disease outbreaks and pandemics [ 62 , 66 ], climate change [ 67 ], political polarization [ 68 ], and conflicts [ 69 , 70 ] all evoke strong emotions. The results from our study suggest that these crises may affect decision-making in other domains, which are not directly tied to the crisis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase information avoidance about an important unrelated health threat

Gustafson,

Brooks,

Meerza

et al. 2023

PLoS ONE

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The COVID-19 pandemic, like other crises, has had direct and indirect impacts on individuals, many of which have been negative. While a large body of research has examined the impacts of COVID-19 on people’s lives, there is little evidence about how COVID-19 affects decision-making broadly. Emotional responses to COVID-19-related stressors, such as illness and income loss, provide a pathway for these stressors to affect decision-making. In this study, we examine linkages between exposure to COVID-19-related stressors—focusing on temporally specific local case counts and loss of income due to the pandemic—and decisions to access information about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), another critically important health issue. COVID-19 constitutes a natural experiment in that people’s exposure to stressors does not result from those individuals’ current decisions. Using a nationally representative survey with 1223 respondents in December 2020, we linked the temporally specific COVID-19 cases and income loss experienced by participants to an increased likelihood of feeling hopeless. Higher feelings of hopelessness led to a higher probability of avoiding information about AMR. A mediation analysis confirms that emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors significantly increase information avoidance about an unrelated, but important health issue. Our results suggest that large-scale crises, like COVID-19 and climate change, may diminish action on other important health issues facing humanity.

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“…In a small but nationally representative sample of Palestinian adults, Canetti et al 8 showed that screening for depression is positively associated with exposure to political violence and with greater loss of interpersonal and intrapersonal resources or the loss of a loved one. Focusing only on Gaza, several scholars examined the effect of exposure to conflict and violence on physical health 9,10 and revealed how people residing in areas where there are more instances of violence are more likely to have physical disabilities and chronic illnesses, in particular mental health issues, compared to others that have not experienced violence. These findings suggest that exposure to conflict and violence increases the risk of developing or maintaining depression.…”

Section: Literature On Depression and Conflictmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Depression and Associated Socio-economic Outcomes during Violent Conflict: A Matched Analysis for Palestine Using Nationally Representative Survey and Conflict Event Data

Ronzani,

Stojetz,

Stammel

et al. 2024

Preprint

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SummaryBackgroundMental health risks are high in conflict settings, but mental health research mostly focuses on non-conflict settings. Survey data from active conflict settings often suffer from low response rates, unrepresentative samples, and a lack of detailed information on the roots and implications of poor mental health. We overcome these challenges by analyzing nationally representative evidence on the prevalence, sources, and socio-economic correlates of depression, a highly disabling and costly public health issue, in an active conflict setting.MethodsWe analyze nationally and sub-nationally representative geocoded survey data from the Palestinians’ Psychological Conditions Survey, collected from 5,877 Palestinian individuals in West Bank and Gaza in 2022. We calculate representative depression statistics, disaggregate by sub-areas and across socio-demographic groups, and estimate the associations with geocoded violent conflict event data as well as survey-based trauma exposure across conflict types and socio-economic outcomes.Findings58 percent (SE=2·21) of adults in Palestine exhibit depressive symptoms. Prevalence is highest in Gaza (71 percent, SE=2·70), increases with exposure to violent conflict and traumatic events, and is associated with worse socio-economic outcomes. The associated losses for 2022 are equivalent to 732,555 Years Lost in Disability, representing 8·9 percent of Palestine’s GDP.InterpretationThose exposed to violence and traumatic events are disproportionately affected by depression in conflict settings, which may fuel poverty and instability. Scalable investments in mental health in conflict settings promise to not only support well-being but also strengthen productivity and social cohesion for a given level of violence.FundingThe study received funding by the World Bank’s State and Peace Building Trust Fund.

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Conflict exposure and health: Evidence from the Gaza Strip

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase avoidance of health information and access to care

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase avoidance of health information and access to care

Emotional responses to COVID-19 stressors increase information avoidance about an important unrelated health threat

Prevalence of Depression and Associated Socio-economic Outcomes during Violent Conflict: A Matched Analysis for Palestine Using Nationally Representative Survey and Conflict Event Data

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