Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37264605›Full record

ArticleThe Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry2024

Predictors of individual mental health and psychological resilience after Australia's 2019-2020 bushfires.

Emily Macleod, Timothy Heffernan, Lisa-Marie Greenwood, Iain Walker, Jo Lane, Samantha K Stanley, Olivia Evans, Alison L Calear, Tegan Cruwys, Bruce K Christensen and 5 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
7.5field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Approach to wildfire-related health impacts.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2026
    Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Longitudinal effects of bushfire harm on adolescent mental health.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Social group connections support mental health following wildfire.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2024
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
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

15 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Emily MacleodSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9568-6575
Timothy HeffernanSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Lisa-Marie GreenwoodSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Iain WalkerSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Jo LaneNational Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Samantha K StanleySchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Olivia EvansSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Alison L CalearCentre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Tegan CruwysSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Bruce K ChristensenSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Tim KurzSchool of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Emily LancsarCentre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Julia ReynoldsSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Rachael Rodney HarrisCentre for Entrepreneurial Agri-Technology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Stewart SutherlandSchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
Australian National University · AUThe University of Western Australia · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsWe assessed the mental health effects of Australia's 2019-2020 bushfires 12-18 months later, predicting psychological distress and positive psychological outcomes from bushfire exposure and a range of demographic variables, and seeking insights to enhance disaster preparedness and resilience planning for different profiles of people.

methodsWe surveyed 3083 bushfire-affected and non-affected Australian residents about their experiences of bushfire, COVID-19, psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder) and positive psychological outcomes (resilient coping, wellbeing).

resultsWe found high rates of distress across all participants, exacerbated by severity of bushfire exposure. For people who were bushfire-affected, being older, having less financial stress, and having no or fewer pre-existing mental disorders predicted both lower distress and higher positive outcomes. Being male or having less income loss also predicted positive outcomes. Severity of exposure, higher education and higher COVID-19-related stressors predicted both higher distress and higher positive outcomes. Pre-existing physical health diagnosis and previous bushfire experience did not significantly predict distress or positive outcomes. RECOMMENDATIONS: To promote disaster resilience, we recommend investment in mental health, particularly for younger adults and for those in rural and remote areas. We also recommend investment in mechanisms to protect against financial distress and the development of a broader definition of bushfire-related impacts than is currently used to capture brushfires' far-reaching effects.

Indexed as

COVID-19DisastersResilience, PsychologicalAdultAustraliaFemaleHumansMaleMental HealthStress, PsychologicalbushfireMental healthnatural disasterpsychological resiliencewellbeing

Identifiers

PMID37264605
PMCPMC10756019
OpenAlexW4379094724

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.