The impact of earthquakes on women: assessing women's mental health in aftermath of the Kahramanmaraş-centred earthquake in Türkiye.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Kaplan V; Faculty of Health Sciences, Nursing Department, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, 63300, Turkey.; Alkasaby M; Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.; Düken ME; Faculty of Health Sciences, Nursing Department, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, 63300, Turkey.; Kaçkin Ö; Faculty of Health Sciences, Nursing Department, Harran University, Şanlıurfa, 63300, Turkey.; Riad A; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, 62500, Czech Republic.
- Source
- Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101188638 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1741-3850 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17413842 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Public Health (Oxf) Subsets: MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Background: Earthquakes disproportionately affect women and exacerbate gender and social inequalities. This study aims to investigate the psychological impact of the earthquake in Türkiye on women and the associated factors.
Methods: This is a survey-based study. We collected data from 498 women residing in cities most affected by the earthquake.
Results: Participants' mean age was 27.72 ± 5.4. Over 78% of the participants lost at least one family member, and 43.7% lost at least one child due to the earthquake. The mean average of Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) scores was 100.8 (SD = 8.37), and the Global Severity Index was 1.9 (SD = 0.16). Regression analysis showed that higher education levels predicted poor outcomes across most BSI dimensions. Losing a family member and shelter and injury status were also predictors for several mental health outcomes of the BSI subscales.
Conclusions: Earthquakes significantly impact women's well-being and may have a broader impact on the whole family. There is an urgent need to provide psycho-social interventions in the response and recovery phases of the crisis to meet the affected women's needs. This includes providing basic needs with attention to women-specific needs, restoring social networks, addressing gender-based violence and providing gender-sensitive specialized interventions for those who need further support.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Faculty of Public Health.)