Due to climate change environmental hazards have become more prevalent and severe. Environmental hazards cannot be prevented but what can be diminished is the negative impact hazards have on people and property. Previous research looking into interventions for environmental hazards have identified that communities negatively impacted by hazards can benefit from interventions that focus on preparedness for disasters, mental health and increasing social support. The Community-Based Disaster Mental Health Intervention (CBDMHI) is an evidence-based approach that aims to increase disaster preparedness, resilience, social cohesion, and social support, and decrease mental health symptoms. The overarching aim of this project was to adapt the CBDMHI for an Australian bushfire context. This project specifically aimed to adapt the CBDMHI to rural Australia community who were impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfire season. This project aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the CBDMHI in the studied community with the hope that the CBDMHI could be adapted to other rural Australian disaster-prone communities.
Study One aimed to explore a rural Australian community’s experience of the 2019-2020 bushfires in order to ascertain insight into the community recovery and preparedness needs so that the CBDMHI could be adapted to the local community context. Thirteen Australian adults who resided within a small rural community in New South Wales during the 2019-2020 bushfires participated in semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Results of this analysis were broken into two separate papers. Paper one focused on disaster preparedness and mental health needs and found that participants reported being unprepared for the 2019-2020 bushfires and that the community has started to prepare for future bushfires. Participants also described a belief in ‘climate cycles’ rather than climate change, limiting engagement in preparedness for future hazards. Participants also reported that they did not talk about the 2019-2020 bushfires, although described experiencing residual anxiety. Paper two focused on the community’s social cohesion following the 2019-2020 bushfires. Five themes were identified regarding social cohesion across different points in time. Before the bushfires, participants reported that their community was “fractured”. During the bushfires, participants reported that the community “rallied”. Post bushfires the participants discussed the “external supports” that entered the community, the “community wedges” that occurred, and how the community went “back to normal”, illustrating that the community returned to being “fractured” after the bushfires.
Study two aimed to pilot the adapted CBDMHI in a rural Australian community and assessed acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. Nine Australian adults participated in the intervention. Both quantitative and qualitative analysis were used. Data were analysed using repeated measures ANOVAs. Results showed large main effects for time in resilience and cohesion, though these results all fell outside conventional significance. There was also a significant interaction between the number of modules completed and time for preparedness, such that those who completed all modules sustained preparedness over time. Results highlighted that the intervention was found to be acceptable, with participants reporting that they found the intervention to be helpful for themselves and their community, well-structured, enjoyable, and engaging. The CBDMHI was feasible in a rural Australian community and this was evidenced as the intervention was aligned with the resources, time frames and logistical requirements. Taken together the findings of this research illustrate that the CBDMHI was feasible and acceptable in a rural Australian bushfire context.