Obuobi-Donkor Gloria, Shalaby Reham, Agyapong Belinda, Dias Raquel da Luz, Eboreime Ejemai, Wozney Lori, Agyapong Vincent Israel Opoku
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Front Public Health. 2024 Dec 18;12:1452872. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1452872. eCollection 2024.
Individuals exposed to wildfires are at risk of developing adverse mental health conditions in the months following the event. Receiving supportive text interventions during and after a wildfire event can have a significant impact on reducing mental health conditions over time.
The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a supportive text message intervention service in reducing the severity and prevalence of psychological conditions 3 months following the 2023 wildfires in Alberta and Nova Scotia, two regions heavily affected by these natural disasters.
In this longitudinal study, participants voluntarily subscribed to the Text4Hope-AB and Text4Hope-NS services, receiving supportive text interventions for 3 months. On enrolment and at 3 months post-enrolment, participants completed online surveys. The severity and prevalence of mental wellbeing, resilience, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress were measured using the World Health Organization- Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder - 7 scale (GAD-7), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Civilians (PCL-C) respectively. Data analysis involved using McNemar's chi-square test and paired sample -tests.
A total of 150 subscribers partially or fully completed both the baseline and 3-month assessments. The results show a statistically significant change in the mean scores on the WHO-5 Wellbeing Index (+ 24.6%), PHQ-9 (-17.0%), GAD-7 scale (-17.6%), PCL-C (-6.0%), and BRS (+3.2%) from baseline to 3 months. Similarly, there was a reduction, although not statistically significant, in the prevalence of low resilience (55.1 vs. 53.4%), poor mental well-being (71.6 vs. 48.3%), likely MDD (71.4 vs. 40.7%), likely GAD (42.1 vs. 33.3%), and likely PTSD (42.0 vs. 38.4%).
The study's findings underscore the potential of the supportive text intervention program in effectively aiding individuals who have endured natural disasters such as wildfires. Providing supportive text messages during wildfire events is a promising strategy for mitigating mental health conditions over time.
接触野火的个体在事件发生后的数月内有出现不良心理健康状况的风险。在野火事件期间及之后接受支持性文本干预，随着时间推移，对减轻心理健康状况可能会产生重大影响。
本研究旨在评估支持性短信干预服务在降低艾伯塔省和新斯科舍省2023年野火（这两个地区受这些自然灾害严重影响）发生3个月后心理状况的严重程度和患病率方面的有效性。
在这项纵向研究中，参与者自愿订阅Text4Hope - AB和Text4Hope - NS服务，接受为期3个月的支持性文本干预。在入组时和入组后3个月，参与者完成在线调查。分别使用世界卫生组织-五福安康指数（WHO - 5）、简易复原力量表（BRS）、患者健康问卷9项（PHQ - 9）、广泛性焦虑障碍7项量表（GAD - 7）和平民创伤后应激障碍检查表（PCL - C）来测量心理健康、复原力、抑郁、焦虑和创伤后应激的严重程度和患病率。数据分析采用McNemar卡方检验和配对样本检验。
共有150名订阅者部分或全部完成了基线和3个月评估。结果显示，从基线到3个月，WHO - 5安康指数的平均得分（+24.6%）、PHQ - 9（-17.0%）、GAD - 7量表（-17.6%）、PCL - C（-6.0%）和BRS（+3.2%）有统计学意义的变化。同样，低复原力（55.1%对53.4%）、心理健康不佳（71.6%对48.3%）、可能的重度抑郁症（71.4%对40.7%）、可能的广泛性焦虑症（42.1%对33.3%）和可能的创伤后应激障碍（42.0%对38.4%）的患病率有所降低，尽管无统计学意义。
该研究结果强调了支持性文本干预项目在有效帮助经历野火等自然灾害的个体方面的潜力。在野火事件期间提供支持性短信是随着时间推移减轻心理健康状况的一项有前景的策略。
