Torres Jacqueline M, Casey Joan A
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program, and the Center for Health & Community, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California St., Suite 465, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars Program and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Mulford Hall, 130 Hilgard Way, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2017 Jul 6;17(1):600. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4508-0.
Climate change-related hazards and disasters, known to adversely impact physical and mental health outcomes, are also expected to result in human migration above current levels. Environmentally-motivated migration and displacement may lead to the disruption of existing social ties, with potentially adverse consequences for mobile populations as well as their family members who remain in places of origin. We propose that the disruption of social ties is a key mechanism by which climate-related migration may negatively impact mental health, in particular. Existing social ties may provide social and material resources that buffer mental health stressors related to both prolonged and acute climate events. Preparation for such events may also strengthen these same ties and protect mental health. Communities may leverage social ties, first to mitigate climate change, and second, to adapt and rebuild post-disaster in communities of origin. Additionally, social ties can inform migration decisions and destinations. For example, scholars have found that the drought-motivated adaptive migration of West African Fulbe herders only occurred because of the long-term development of social networks between migrants and non-migrants through trade and seasonal grazing. On the other hand, social ties do not always benefit mental health. Some migrants, including those from poor regions or communities with no formal safety net, may face considerable burden to provide financial and emotional resources to family members who remain in countries of origin. In destination communities, migrants often face significant social marginalization. Therefore, policies and programs that aim to maintain ongoing social ties among migrants and their family and community members may be critically important in efforts to enhance population resilience and adaptation to climate change and to improve mental health outcomes. Several online platforms, like Refugee Start Force, serve to integrate refugees by connecting migrants directly to people and services in destination communities. These efforts may increasingly draw upon novel technologies to support and maintain social networks in the context of population mobility due to climatic and other factors.
与气候变化相关的危害和灾难，已知会对身心健康产生不利影响，预计还会导致人类迁移量超过当前水平。出于环境原因导致的迁移和流离失所可能会破坏现有的社会关系，对流动人口及其留在原籍地的家庭成员产生潜在的不利后果。我们认为，社会关系的破坏是气候相关迁移可能对心理健康产生负面影响的关键机制。现有的社会关系可以提供社会和物质资源，缓冲与长期和急性气候事件相关的心理健康压力源。为此类事件做准备也可以加强这些关系并保护心理健康。社区可以利用社会关系，首先减轻气候变化的影响，其次，在原籍社区灾后进行适应和重建。此外，社会关系可以为迁移决策和目的地提供信息。例如，学者们发现，西非富尔贝牧民因干旱而进行的适应性迁移之所以发生，只是因为移民和非移民之间通过贸易和季节性放牧建立了长期的社会网络。另一方面，社会关系并不总是对心理健康有益。一些移民，包括那些来自贫困地区或没有正式安全网的社区的移民，可能面临为留在原籍国的家庭成员提供经济和情感资源的巨大负担。在目的地社区，移民往往面临严重的社会边缘化。因此，旨在维持移民与其家庭和社区成员之间持续社会关系的政策和计划，对于增强人口适应气候变化的能力和改善心理健康状况的努力可能至关重要。一些在线平台，如难民启动力量，通过将移民直接与目的地社区的人员和服务联系起来，帮助难民融入。由于气候和其他因素导致人口流动，这些努力可能会越来越多地利用新技术来支持和维持社会网络。
