Moving Mental Health into the Disaster-Preparedness Spotlight

Mental Health Needs Assessment After the Gulf Coast Oil Spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010

“…3 Physical health effects, such as respiratory symptoms, skin irritations, and headache, can result from contact with the spilled oil. 4 However, longitudinal studies of communities in which previous oil spills have occurred suggest that the subsequent mental health effects can be more widespread than physical health outcomes following an oil spill.…”

Building a National Model of Public Mental Health Preparedness and Community Resilience: Validation of a Dual-Intervention, Systems-Based Approach

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Mental and behavioral health surge accompanies all major hazards, including natural incidents, 6-8 accidental events, 9,10 and willful acts such as terrorism and mass shootings. [11][12][13][14] Depending on the type, magnitude, and duration of the occurrence, psychological casualties can outnumber physical injuries by substantial ratios and often overwhelm existing clinical resources, 11 particularly in low-resource settings.…”

Mental Health Consequences of Chemical and Radiologic Emergencies

“…The primary focus of most disaster responses generally concentrates on physical damage, whereas emotional and psychological effects in the affected population are often overlooked. 4 An increase in symptoms of psychological distress and psychiatric illness, including substance abuse and domestic violence, tends to follow most major natural and technological disasters. Examples of specific disasters where increased symptoms were documented include Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.…”

“…Examples of specific disasters where increased symptoms were documented include Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. [4][5][6] Even though the increase in psychological distress and psychiatric symptomatology in the aftermath of disasters has been well documented, the consequences of these increases have not received extensive emergency planning consideration in the United States. This is despite a consensus among most experts that disasters result in a substantial psychological burden for those affected 1,[7][8][9] and that early behavioral health interventions should be routinely incorporated into the response to disasters.…”

“…This is despite a consensus among most experts that disasters result in a substantial psychological burden for those affected 1,[7][8][9] and that early behavioral health interventions should be routinely incorporated into the response to disasters. 4,10 For instance, the 2006 Chernobyl Forum Report evaluating the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster concluded that mental health was the most common public health problem unleashed by the accident, with issues including depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, medically unexplained somatic symptoms, and stigma. 1,11,12 Although attention has been given to the mental health effects of natural disasters, 13 there is a more limited, albeit growing, literature on the mental health effects of technological disasters, specifically those resulting from chemical and radiologic releases.…”