socio-cultural stresses associated with drought and rural ... · socio-cultural stresses associated...
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Socio-cultural stresses associated with drought and rural
communities in Australia Emma Austin & Anthony Kiem
Centre for Water, Climate and Land-use (CWCL) Faculty of Science and Information Technology
University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia
In collaboration with Professor Brian Kelly and the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health
Objectives
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Understanding relationship between drought & wellbeing
Improved adaptive capacity
Improved resilience & pathways to implementation of successful adaptation
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Wellbeing “an individual’s global
evaluation of his or her life across a variety of different
aspects of that life”
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Wellbeing
Physical
Relationships
Intellectual
Spiritual Creative
Community
Psychological
Diener, E., Lucas, R., Schimmack, U., & Helliwell, J. (2009). Well-Being for Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Psychological
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Knowledge gap - quantify how wellbeing varies in space and time in relation to different
drought metrics
Kessler 10 (K10) measure of psychological distress In the past four weeks, about how often did you feel…
1. …tired out for no good reason? 2. …nervous? 3. …so nervous that nothing could calm you down? 4. …hopeless? 5. …restless or fidgety? 6. …so restless you could not sit still? 7. …depressed? 8. …everything was an effort? 9. …so sad that nothing could cheer you up? 10. …worthless?
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K10 Score Level of psychological distress
10-15 Low
16-24 Moderate
>25 High
Score
1 None of the time
2 A little of the time
3 Some of the time
4 Most of the time
5 All of the time
Grouping of K10 scores (min 10, max 50)
K10 response scale
• Method – Longitudinal
• baseline (07/08), one year (08/09), three year (10/11), five year (12/13)
– Cohort (~2000) – Self report and telephone interview
• Hypotheses, Aims…please see website, contact me or see… – Kelly et al. (2010). Mental health and well-being within rural communities: The
Australian Rural Mental Health Study. The Australian Journal of Rural Health, 18, 16-24. – Stain et al. (2011). The psychological impact of chronic environmental adversity:
Responding to prolonged drought. Social Science and Medicine, 73, 1593-1599. – Kelly et al. (2011). Determinants of mental health and well-being within rural and
remote communities. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 46, 1331-1342.
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1. Australian Rural Mental Health Study (ARMHS)(cont.)
www.crrmh.com.au/Current/armhs.html
Influence of socio-economic factors & environmental adversity (i.e. drought)
on wellbeing of people in rural communities
1. ARMHS study area
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Remoteness structure
# of ARMHS
responses
% of responses
(total = 2163)
Major cities 0 0
Inner regional 783 36.20%
Outer regional 808 37.36%
Remote 407 18.82%
Very remote 165 7.62%
1. ARMHS findings – K10
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Remoteness structure
# of ARMHS
responses
% of responses
(total = 2163)
Major cities 0 0
Inner regional 783 36.20%
Outer regional 808 37.36%
Remote 407 18.82%
Very remote 165 7.62%
K10= 15.97
K10= 14.06
K10= 14.56
K10= 14.71
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1. ARMHS findings – K10
Remoteness structure
Major cities
Inner regional
Outer regional
Remote
Very remote
Kessler10 scores for Local Government Area
– Existing classifications of ‘rurality’ do not encompass the diversity needed to understand health outcomes (Kelly et al, 2010)
• Sex, socioeconomic status, population change and migration, mental disorders, suicide
– High worry associated with (Stain et al, 2011): • Higher levels of neuroticism • Recent adverse life events • Employment status • Living on a farm • Living in a very remote area • Marriage status
2. Spatial analysis of Big Dry Annual average rainfall deficits for
the three droughts in Australia’s history
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Federation Big Dry/Millennium WWII
Verdon-Kidd, D. C., & Kiem, A. S. (2009). Nature and causes of protracted droughts in southeast Australia: Comparison between the Federation, WWII, and Big Dry droughts. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(22), L22707. doi: 10.1029/2009GL041067
% difference
+100
-100
+75
+50
+25
0
-25
-50
-75 “worst drought in history”
Big Dry, annual rainfall deficits, NSW, 1998-2009
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2. Spatial analysis of Big Dry
Big Dry, accumulated annual rainfall deficits, NSW, 1998-2009
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2. Spatial analysis of Big Dry
3. Linking drought and wellbeing
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Kessler10 scores for Local Government Area Very remote Remote
Outer regional
Inner regional
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3. Linking drought and wellbeing Index of Relative Socio Economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD)
Ongoing work • Rainfall indicative of meteorological drought
– Further analysis for agricultural and hydrological drought • Wellbeing data prior/post Big Dry (ARMHS/HILDA) • Expand across Australia using HILDA (Household Income and
Labour Dynamics Australia) • Use links between drought-wellness-remoteness-socio
economics to increase adaptive capacity and resilience to current and future droughts – Practical/useful/robust adaptation options and pathways to
implementation more likely??!!
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Conclusions
• Drought insidious, pervasive – not like other extremes – Successful adaptation must take this into account
• Rural community experience is not just about drought • Rurality doesn’t tell the whole story • Implications for policy, services, programs,
infrastructure
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Understanding relationship between drought & wellbeing
Improved adaptive capacity
Improved resilience & pathways to implementation of successful adaptation
