Manship School of Mass Communication, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Department of Communication, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2021 Dec;15(6):735-740. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2020.99. Epub 2020 Jul 6.
This study sought to understand factors related to weather-related disaster survivors' health information and mental health-care-seeking behaviors.
In November 2017, we conducted a quantitative survey of 170 Gulf Coast residents who experienced weather-related disasters. The survey assessed how individual and psychosocial factors affect health-care-seeking behavior.
Nearly 66% of participants reported a high frequency of depression and/or anxiety symptoms, yet only 39% saw a medical professional. Of participants who visited a medical professional, 76% sought information from nonmedical sources. Seeking medical care was strongly correlated with seeking information from nonmedical sources and previous healthcare experiences, but not with fear and stigma.
Positive communication and strong support systems have the potential to mitigate the reluctance people have in seeking help for mental health problems. Although it is discouraging that few people seek professional care, it is promising that participants were not avoiding care due to fear of being stigmatized. Less opposition to mental health care by survivors offers opportunity for mental health professionals to treat the psychological problems survivors experience. Providing necessary information may make headway to mental health care where it is greatly needed.
本研究旨在了解与天气相关灾害幸存者的健康信息和心理健康保健寻求行为相关的因素。
2017 年 11 月，我们对 170 名经历过天气相关灾害的墨西哥湾沿岸居民进行了一项定量调查。该调查评估了个体和社会心理因素如何影响保健寻求行为。
近 66%的参与者报告称出现了高频抑郁和/或焦虑症状，但只有 39%的人看过医疗专业人员。在看过医疗专业人员的参与者中，76%的人从非医疗来源获取信息。寻求医疗保健与从非医疗来源获取信息以及先前的医疗保健经验密切相关，但与恐惧和耻辱感无关。
积极的沟通和强大的支持系统有可能减轻人们在寻求心理健康问题帮助时的不情愿。尽管很少有人寻求专业护理令人沮丧，但令人鼓舞的是，参与者并不是因为担心被污名化而避免护理。幸存者对心理健康护理的反对程度较低，为心理健康专业人员治疗幸存者所经历的心理问题提供了机会。提供必要的信息可能会在急需心理健康护理的地方取得进展。
