Sarah Law,Temenuzhka Marinova,Lillie Ewins,Elizabeth Marks
{"title":"Understanding the psychological impact of flooding on older adults: A scoping review.","authors":"Sarah Law,Temenuzhka Marinova,Lillie Ewins,Elizabeth Marks","doi":"10.1111/nyas.15356","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Flooding is increasing in frequency and intensity as a function of climate change. Older populations are vulnerable to the physical and mental health impacts of flooding, having less ability to cope and fewer rescue possibilities compared to younger ages, with resulting mental health impacts. This scoping review, based on JBI Scoping Review Methodology, scoped and summarized the evidence for the psychological impacts of flooding on older adults. Electronic databases were searched for reports of direct or indirect experiences of flooding in older adults globally (mental health, well-being, emotional outcomes). Ten articles across four continents were included. Risk of bias analysis found that 80% of articles were of weak and 20% were of moderate quality. Most studies focused on depression (70%), posttraumatic stress (60%), and anxiety (20%) as outcomes. Over half considered additional impacts and protective factors. This small but growing literature base demonstrates that climate-related flooding affects the mental health of older adults, with associations between flooding, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Poor social support contributes to worse mental health outcomes, suggesting that helpful interventions might focus on enhancing resilience through building social networks. All studies reviewed were from high-income countries; more research is required with countries with lower income.","PeriodicalId":8250,"journal":{"name":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"103","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.15356","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"综合性期刊","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Flooding is increasing in frequency and intensity as a function of climate change. Older populations are vulnerable to the physical and mental health impacts of flooding, having less ability to cope and fewer rescue possibilities compared to younger ages, with resulting mental health impacts. This scoping review, based on JBI Scoping Review Methodology, scoped and summarized the evidence for the psychological impacts of flooding on older adults. Electronic databases were searched for reports of direct or indirect experiences of flooding in older adults globally (mental health, well-being, emotional outcomes). Ten articles across four continents were included. Risk of bias analysis found that 80% of articles were of weak and 20% were of moderate quality. Most studies focused on depression (70%), posttraumatic stress (60%), and anxiety (20%) as outcomes. Over half considered additional impacts and protective factors. This small but growing literature base demonstrates that climate-related flooding affects the mental health of older adults, with associations between flooding, depression, and posttraumatic stress. Poor social support contributes to worse mental health outcomes, suggesting that helpful interventions might focus on enhancing resilience through building social networks. All studies reviewed were from high-income countries; more research is required with countries with lower income.
期刊介绍:
Published on behalf of the New York Academy of Sciences, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences provides multidisciplinary perspectives on research of current scientific interest with far-reaching implications for the wider scientific community and society at large. Each special issue assembles the best thinking of key contributors to a field of investigation at a time when emerging developments offer the promise of new insight. Individually themed, Annals special issues stimulate new ways to think about science by providing a neutral forum for discourse—within and across many institutions and fields.