The Effect of Forced Migration on Mental Health in Elderly Individuals: A Struggle in the Shadow of Disasters

Abstract

Natural disasters are social crises that affect people together with their environment, which are unpredictable where and when they will occur worldwide. Natural disasters are a process that deeply affects people's lives, often necessitating relocation. Natural disasters affecting individuals from all age groups significantly affect elderly individuals, who are a vulnerable and fragile group due to physical limitations, chronic diseases and other age-related factors. Uncertainty and anxiety together with difficult experiences and change of location after the disaster is a traumatic process that especially affects elderly individuals. The fact that elderly individuals constitute the majority of the increasing population on a global scale and the increasing number of natural disasters today makes it a priority to address the mental health of elderly individuals and to carry out more studies on survival strategies. From this point of view, this review study aims to provide strategies for the protection, development and rehabilitation of the mental health of elderly individuals by focusing on the mental health problems and coping methods of elderly individuals who try to establish a new life by having to relocate due to natural disasters and natural disasters. Pre-disaster preparation and post-disaster intervention programs should be prepared specifically for elderly individuals and should be structured taking into account cultural/geographical differences.

Keywords

• elderly health
• forced migration
• mental health
• natural disaster

References

1. Adhikari Baral, I., & KC, B. (2019). Post-traumatic stress disorder and coping strategies among adult survivors of an earthquake, Nepal. BMC Psychiatry, 19, 118. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2090-y.
2. Ali, M., Farooq, N., Bhatti, M. A., & Kuroiwa, C. (2012). Assessment of prevalence and determinants of posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors of an earthquake in Pakistan using the Davidson Trauma Scale. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 238-243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.12.023.
3. Battal, S., & Özmenler, N. (1997). Posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder. In: Güleç, C., & Köroğlu, E. (Eds.), Psikiyatri Temel Kitabı. Hekimler Yayın Birliği: Ankara.
4. Bayraktar, N., & Dal Yılmaz, Ü. (2018). Vulnerability of elderly people in disasters: A systematic review. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(2), 467–482.
5. Blevins, C. A., Weathers, F. W., Davis, M. T., Witte, T. K., & Domino, J. L. (2015). The posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): Development and initial psychometric evaluation. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(6), 489-498.
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). Healthy aging: Helping people to live long and productive lives and enjoy a good quality of life. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/aging.htm.
7. Claver, M., Dobalian, A., Fickel, J. J., Ricci, K. A., & Mallers, M. H. (2013). Comprehensive care for vulnerable elderly veterans during disasters. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 56(1), 205-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2012.07.010.
8. Cofini, V., Carbonelli, A., Cecilia, M. R., Binkin, N., & di Orio, F. (2015). Post-traumatic stress disorder and coping in a sample of adult survivors of the Italian earthquake. Psychiatry Research, 229(1), 353–358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2015.06.041.

9. Donatelli, N. S., & Somes, J. (2012). Disaster planning considerations involving the geriatric patient: Part II. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 38(6), 563-567. PMID: 23040168.
10. Feder, A., Ahmad, S., Lee, E. J., Morgan, J. E., Singh, R., Smith, B. W., Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2013). Coping and PTSD symptoms in Pakistani earthquake survivors: Purpose in life, religious coping, and social support. Journal of Affective Disorders, 147(1):156-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.10.027
11. Help Age. (2013). Displacement and older people: The case of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011. Japanese Red Cross.
12. Hollifield, M., Hewage, C., Gunawardena, C. N., Kodituwakku, P., Bopagoda, K., & Weerarathnege, K. (2008). Symptoms and coping in Sri Lanka 20–21 months after the 2004 tsunami. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 192(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.107.038422.
13. IOM. (2023). 2023 Earthquakes Displacement Overview-Türkiye. DTM IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, 1 March 2023.
14. James, H., & Paton, D. (2015). Social Capital and the Cultural Contexts of Disaster Recovery Outcomes in Myanmar and Taiwan. Global Change, Peace & Security, 27(2), 207-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781158.2015.1030380.
15. Jia, Z., Tian, W., Liu, W., Cao, Y., Yan, J., & Shun, Z. (2010). Are the elderly more vulnerable to the psychological impact of natural disasters? A population-based survey of adult survivors of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. JAMA, 304(1), 172. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2010.944.
16. Kalınkara, V. (2021). Temel Gerontoloji: Yaşlılık Bilimi. (4. Baskı) Ankara: Nobel Yayınları.
17. Kart, C. S., & Kinney, J. M. (2001). The Realities of Aging: An Introduction to Gerontology (6th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
18. Kim, E. M., Kim, G. S., Kim, H., et al. (2022). Health-related quality of life among older adults who experienced the Pohang earthquake in South Korea: A cross-sectional survey. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 20, 37. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-022-01944-8.
19. Kula, N. (2002). Deprem ve Dini Başa Çıkma. Gazi Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 1, 234-235.
20. Küçük, U., & Karadeniz, H. (2021). Yaşlanmaya bağlı bireylerde görülen fizyolojik, ruhsal, sosyal değişiklikler ve korunmaya yönelik önlemler. Yaşlı Sorunları Araştırma Dergisi / Elderly Issues Research Journal, 14(2), 96–103. https://doi.org/10.46414/yasad.877517
21. Mayer, J., Moradi, S., Nejat, A., Ghosh, S., Cong, Z., & Liang, D. (2020). Drivers of post-disaster relocations: The case of Moore and Hattiesburg tornados. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 49, 101643.
22. Şengül, M., & Turan, M. (2013). Erciş Depremi Örneğinde Afet Sonrası Geçici Yerleşim Alanlarında Yönetim Uygulamaları ve Sorunları. Mülkiye Dergisi, 36(1-274), 113-148.
23. Şevik, A. E. (2023). Deprem ve yaşlılık: Psikososyal bir bakış. Yaşlı Sorunları Araştırma Dergisi / Elderly Issues Research Journal, 16(1), 49-57.
24. T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı (2023). "06 Şubat 2023 Kahramanmaraş (Pazarcık Ve Elbistan) Depremleri Saha Çalışmaları Ön Değerlendirme Raporu." Erişim Tarihi: 12.07.2023.
25. T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı. (2023). 06 Şubat 2023 Pazarcık-Elbistan Kahramanmaraş (Mw: 7.7 - Mw: 7.6) depremleri raporu. Deprem ve Risk Azaltma Genel Müdürlüğü Deprem Dairesi Başkanlığı. 02 Haziran 2023.Erişim Tarihi:01.02.2024
26. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (2022). Adrese Dayalı Nüfus Kayıt Sistemi Sonuçları-2022.
27. Yerli, G. (2017). Yaşlılık dönemi özellikleri ve yaşlılara yönelik sosyal hizmetler. Journal of International Social Research, 10(52), 1278–1287. https://doi.org/10.17719/jisr.2017.1979
28. Yıldız, M. Z., Deniz, O., Parin, S., & Erdoğan, R. (2017). Deprem ve Göç: 2011 Van Depremi Örneği. International Social Science Studies Journal, 3(7), 1426-1444.