Measuring mental health outcomes in Walbridge Fire 2020

Laura McCombs; Nancy A. Brown

doi:10.5055/jem.0828

Authors

Laura McCombs, MPH, RDH https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9119-8224
Nancy A. Brown, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4957-7703

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0828

Keywords:

wildfire, mental health, loss, disaster, community resilience

Abstract

In August 2020, Sonoma County experienced the Walbridge Fire (part of the Lake–Napa Unit Complex Fire). Following the repopulation of evacuated residents, the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management circulated a Resident Experience Survey to learn from stakeholders how the fire impacted their lives, how emergency response to the fire met their needs, and to gather information to improve future disaster response activities. A total of 1,583 English and 55 Spanish surveys were completed. This paper describes a mixed-method research using survey data to understand broader mental health implications of the Walbridge Fire on residents. This study developed a quantitative Global Worry Model to explore which survey factors contributed to poorer mental health outcomes. Quantitative analytics looked at how language, loss, emergency alerts, and family size were measured for significance with a survey reported on a mental health questionnaire. Open-ended survey responses surrounding previous disaster experience, pre-existing health issues, and environmental conditions (smoke and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic) were contributory to responder’s stress and anxiety. Final data analysis concluded that those who faced immediate loss presented with significant self-declared stress and anxiety.

Author Biographies

Laura McCombs, MPH, RDH

Department of Emergency Management, Benedictine University, Rohnert Park, California

Nancy A. Brown, PhD

Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management, Santa Rosa, California

References

Cal Fire: LNU lightning complex. Welcome to Cal Fire. 2022. Available at https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/17/lnu-lightning-complex-includes-hennessey-gamble-15-10-spanish-markley-13-4-11-16-walbridge/. Accessed February 7, 2022.

QSR International: NVivo (version 1.6.1) [Computer software]. 2020. Available at https://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-qualitative-data-analysis-software/home. Accessed January 10, 2022.

Lee C, Doocy S, Deli A, et al.: Measuring impact: A cross-sectional multi-stage cluster survey to assess the attainment of durable solutions in post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia. BMC Public Health. 2014; 14(1). DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1168

Heinz AJ, Wiltsey-Stirman S, Sharin T, et al.: Rising from the ashes by expanding access to community care after disaster: An origin story of the wildfire mental health collaborative and preliminary findings. Psychol Serv. 2022; 19(Suppl. 2): 58-66. DOI: 10.1037/ser0000553. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000553

Neria Y, Galea S, Norris FH: Mental Health and Disasters. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Hirsch CR, Mathews A: A cognitive model of pathological worry. Behav Res Ther. 2012; 50(10): 636-646. DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.06.007

Güzel A: Development of the disaster anxiety scale and exploring its psychometric properties. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2022; 41: 175-180. DOI: 10.1016/j.apnu.2022.07.028. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2022.07.028

McNeish D, Wolf M: Thinking twice about sum scores. Behav Res. 2020; 52(6): 2287-2305. DOI: 10.3758/s13428-020-01398-0. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-020-01398-0

Stewart AE: Psychometric properties of the Climate Change Worry Scale. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(2): 494. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020494. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020494

Hirai M, Dolma S, Vernon LL, et al.: Beliefs about mental illness in a Spanish-speaking Latin American sample. Psychiatr Res. 2021; 295: 113634. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113634. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113634

Mayunga JS: Measuring the Measure: A Multi-Dimensional Scale Model to Measure Community Disaster Resilience in the US Gulf Coast Region [Doctoral Dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX]. 2009. Available at http://oaktrsut.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-05-769/MAYUNGADISSERTATION.pdf?sequence=1. Accessed May 19, 2021.

Brown NA, McGettigan M, Godley C, et al.: Case study: Sonoma county resident experiences in 2019 power outages and Kincade fire. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2022; 82: 103289. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103289. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103289

Sugg MM, Runkle JD, Hajnos SN, et al.: Understanding the concurrent risk of mental health and dangerous wildfire events in the COVID-19 pandemic. Sci Total Environ. 2022; 806: 150391. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150391. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150391

Leitmann J: Cities and calamities: Learning from post-disaster response in Indonesia. J Urban Health. 2007; 84(S1): 144-153. DOI: 10.1007/s11524-007-9182-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-007-9182-6

World Health Organization: The WHO’s mental health response to the Asian tsunami. World Psychiatry. 2005; 4(2): 66-67.

Gibson TA, Peña ED, Bedore LM: The receptive–expressive gap in English narratives of Spanish–English bilingual children with and without language impairment. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2018; 61(6): 1381-1392. DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-16-0432. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-16-0432

Marquine MJ, Jimenez D: Cultural and linguistic proficiency in mental health care: A crucial aspect of professional competence. Int Psychogeriatr. 2020; 32(1): 1-3. DOI: 10.1017/S1041610219000541. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610219000541

Nojavan M, Salehi E, Omidvar B: Conceptual change of disaster management models: A thematic analysis. Jàmbá. 2018; 10(1). DOI: 10.4102/jamba.v10i1.451. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v10i1.451

Johnson R, Onwuegbuzie AJ: Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educ Res. 2004; 33(7): 14-26. DOI: 10.3102/0013189x033007014. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033007014

Borgstede M, Scholz M: Quantitative and qualitative approaches to generalization and replication—A representationalist view. Front Psychol. 2021; 12. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.605191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.605191

Clements BW, Casani J: Disasters and Public Health. 2nd ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2016.

Lorenz L, Perkonigg A, Maercker A: The course of adjustment disorder following involuntary job loss and its predictors of latent change. Clin Psychol Sci. 2018; 6(5): 647-657. DOI: 10.1177/2167702618766290. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618766290

IBM: SPSS Statistics for Windows: (Version 28.0.1) [Computer software]. 2019. Available at https://www.ibm.com/products/spssstatistics. Accessed March, 1, 2021.

Korteweg HA, van Bokhoven I, Yzermans C, et al.: Rapid health and needs assessments after disasters: A systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2010; 10(1). DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-295. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-295

Johnson J: Fire survivors say Sonoma County’s alert system failed them. The Press Democrat. November 3, 2017. Available at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/fire-survivors-say-sonoma-countys-alert-system-failed-them/. Accessed November 24, 2022.

Chadwin R: Evacuation of pets during disasters: A public health intervention to increase resilience. Am J Public Health. 2017; 107(9): 1413-1417. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303877. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303877

Soklaridis S, Lin E, Lalani Y, et al.: Mental health interventions and supports during COVID-19 and other medical pandemics: A rapid systematic review of the evidence. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020; 66: 133-146. DOI: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.08.007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.08.007

Leppold C, Gibbs L, Block K, et al.: Public health implications of multiple disaster exposures. Lancet Public Health. 2022; 7(3): E274-E286. DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00255-3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00255-3

Engemann K, Pedersen C, Arge L, et al.: Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2019; 116(11): 5188-5193. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1807504116. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807504116

Klaperski S, Koch E, Hewel D, et al.: Optimizing mental health benefits of exercise: The influence of the exercise environment on acute stress levels and wellbeing. Mental Health Prevent. 2019; 15: 200173. DOI: 10.1016/j.mhp.2019.200173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2019.200173

Harwood A: The trauma after the storm. Scientific American. November 7, 2017. Available at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-trauma-after-the-storm/. Accessed November 30, 2022.

Cohn PJ, Carroll MS, Kumagai Y: Evacuation behavior during wildfires: Results of three case studies. Western J Appl Forestry. 2006; 21(1): 39-48. DOI: 10.1093/wjaf/21.1.39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/wjaf/21.1.39

Thomas D, Butry D, Gilbert S, et al.: The Costs and Losses of Wildfires: A Literature Review (NIST Special Publication 1215). Gaithersburg, MD: National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2017. DOI: 10.6028/NIST.SP.1215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.1215

Palaiologou P, Ager AA, Nielsen-Pincus M, et al.: Social vulnerability to large wildfires in the Western USA. Landsc Urban Plann. 2019; 189: 99-116. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.006. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.006

Cianconi P, Betrò S, Janiri L: The impact of climate change on mental health: A systematic descriptive review. Front Psychiatry. 2020; 11. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00074

Callahan M: Evacuation notices lifted for thousands in Sonoma County as firefighters gain stronger hold on Walbridge Fire. The Press Democrat. August 26, 2020. Available at https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news/evacuation-notices-lifted-for-thousands-insonoma-county-as-firefighters-ga/?artslide=0. Accessed May 8, 2022.