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Understanding Associations Between Hurricane Harvey Exposure and Mental Health Symptoms Among Greater Houston-Area Residents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2020

Kristin Bevilacqua Open the ORCID record for Kristin Bevilacqua [Opens in a new window] ,
Rehana Rasul ,
Samantha Schneider ,
Maria Guzman ,
Vishnu Nepal ,
Deborah Banerjee ,
Joann Schulte  and
Rebecca M. Schwartz
Kristin Bevilacqua*
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Joint Center for Trauma, Disaster Health and Resilience at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY
Rehana Rasul
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Joint Center for Trauma, Disaster Health and Resilience at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Department of Biostatistics, Feinstein Institute of Medication Research at Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY
Samantha Schneider
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Joint Center for Trauma, Disaster Health and Resilience at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY
Maria Guzman
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Joint Center for Trauma, Disaster Health and Resilience at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY
Vishnu Nepal
Affiliation:
Houston Health Department, Houston, TX
Deborah Banerjee
Affiliation:
Houston Health Department, Houston, TX
Joann Schulte
Affiliation:
Houston Health Department, Houston, TX
Rebecca M. Schwartz
Affiliation:
Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Joint Center for Trauma, Disaster Health and Resilience at Mount Sinai, Stony Brook University, Northwell Health, Great Neck, NY Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Institute of Translational Epidemiology, The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology, and Prevention, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Kristin Bevilacqua, 175 Community Drive, Great Neck, NY 11021 (e-mail: kbevilacqu@northwell.edu).
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Abstract

Objective:

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017 and resulted in widespread flooding in Houston and the surrounding areas. This study aimed to explore the associations between exposure to Hurricane Harvey and various mental health symptoms.

Methods:

Self-reported demographics, hurricane exposure, and mental health symptomatology were obtained from residents of the greater Houston area through convenience sampling for a pilot study, 5 months after the storm from January 25-29, 2018 (N = 161).

Results:

Increased hurricane exposure score was significantly associated with increased odds for probable depression, probable anxiety, and probable posttraumatic stress disorder after adjusting for other factors associated with mental health. No significant associations were found between demographic characteristics and risk of mental health difficulties.

Conclusions:

Mental health difficulties associated with exposure to Hurricane Harvey were still present 5 months after the storm. Future disaster response programs should focus on providing long-term mental health services to hurricane survivors.

Keywords

disaster medicinehurricanesmental healthvulnerable populations
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 103 - 110
Copyright
© 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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