Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26506367›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2015

The Mental Health Outcomes of Drought: A Systematic Review and Causal Process Diagram.

Holly Vins, Jesse Bell, Shubhayu Saha, Jeremy J Hess

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
81citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

81 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Key Risk Factors Affecting Farmers' Mental Health: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019
    Pooled it
  5. Article
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  9. Article
  10. Review
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  13. Review
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  15. Addressing water scarcity to support climate resilience and human health.Integrated environmental assessment and management · 2025
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review

21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Holly VinsDepartment of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. hollyvins@gmail.com.
Jesse BellDepartment of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. jesse.bell@noaa.gov.
Shubhayu SahaDepartment of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. hsf5@cdc.gov.
Jeremy J HessDepartment of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. jjhess@uw.edu.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Little is understood about the long term, indirect health consequences of drought (a period of abnormally dry weather). In particular, the implications of drought for mental health via pathways such as loss of livelihood, diminished social support, and rupture of place bonds have not been extensively studied, leaving a knowledge gap for practitioners and researchers alike. A systematic review of literature was performed to examine the mental health effects of drought. The systematic review results were synthesized to create a causal process diagram that illustrates the pathways linking drought effects to mental health outcomes. Eighty-two articles using a variety of methods in different contexts were gathered from the systematic review. The pathways in the causal process diagram with greatest support in the literature are those focusing on the economic and migratory effects of drought. The diagram highlights the complexity of the relationships between drought and mental health, including the multiple ways that factors can interact and lead to various outcomes. The systematic review and resulting causal process diagram can be used in both practice and theory, including prevention planning, public health programming, vulnerability and risk assessment, and research question guidance. The use of a causal process diagram provides a much needed avenue for integrating the findings of diverse research to further the understanding of the mental health implications of drought.

Indexed as

DroughtsMental HealthHumanscausal process diagramclimate changedroughthuman healthmental health

Identifiers

PMID26506367
PMCPMC4627029

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.