Disaster exposure and women’s mental and general health: evidence from longitudinal data
- 1Centre for Applied Health Economics, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 2Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Abstract
Background: Disasters can have important consequences for health, yet much evidence is cross-sectional and cannot account for time-invariant individual heterogeneity.
Objective(s): To examine the association between reported disaster exposure and women’s mental health, psychological distress, and general health using longitudinal Australian data.
Methods: Data from women aged ≥ 15 years participating in Waves 9–22 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey were analysed. Individual and survey-wave fixed-effects models examined within-person associations between disaster exposure and mental health (MHI-5), psychological distress (Kessler-10), and SF-36 General Health. Sensitivity analyses considered long-term illness and single exposure. Dynamic associations were examined using the Callaway–Sant’Anna multiple-period difference-in-differences estimator with formal pre-trend tests.
Results: Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest declines in mental health (β = −0.86, 95% CI − 1.51 to −0.20) and general health (β = −0.83, 95% CI − 1.44 to −0.22). Psychological distress was higher but not statistically significant in the primary model (β = 0.33, 95% CI − 0.04 to 0.70). Sensitivity analyses generally supported the mental and general health findings. Event-study analyses showed no consistent evidence of persistent post-exposure deterioration; however, the MHI-5 joint pre-trend test indicated differential pre-exposure patterns, limiting causal interpretation.
Conclusions: Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest within-person declines in women’s mental and general health, while evidence for psychological distress was less conclusive. The findings support consideration of women’s health in disaster preparedness and recovery planning.
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BibTeX
@article{seema2026disaster,
title = {{Disaster exposure and women’s mental and general health: evidence from longitudinal data}},
author = {Minnat Seema and Clifford Afoakwah and Joshua Byrnes},
journal = {Global Health Action},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1080/16549716.2026.2752483},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2026.2752483},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Disaster exposure and women’s mental and general health: evidence from longitudinal data
AU - Minnat Seema
AU - Clifford Afoakwah
AU - Joshua Byrnes
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - Global Health Action
DO - 10.1080/16549716.2026.2752483
UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2026.2752483
AB - Background: Disasters can have important consequences for health, yet much evidence is cross-sectional and cannot account for time-invariant individual heterogeneity. Objective(s): To examine the association between reported disaster exposure and women’s mental health, psychological distress, and general health using longitudinal Australian data. Methods: Data from women aged ≥ 15 years participating in Waves 9–22 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey were analysed. Individual and survey-wave fixed-effects models examined within-person associations between disaster exposure and mental health (MHI-5), psychological distress (Kessler-10), and SF-36 General Health. Sensitivity analyses considered long-term illness and single exposure. Dynamic associations were examined using the Callaway–Sant’Anna multiple-period difference-in-differences estimator with formal pre-trend tests. Results: Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest declines in mental health (β = −0.86, 95% CI − 1.51 to −0.20) and general health (β = −0.83, 95% CI − 1.44 to −0.22). Psychological distress was higher but not statistically significant in the primary model (β = 0.33, 95% CI − 0.04 to 0.70). Sensitivity analyses generally supported the mental and general health findings. Event-study analyses showed no consistent evidence of persistent post-exposure deterioration; however, the MHI-5 joint pre-trend test indicated differential pre-exposure patterns, limiting causal interpretation. Conclusions: Reported disaster exposure was associated with modest within-person declines in women’s mental and general health, while evidence for psychological distress was less conclusive. The findings support consideration of women’s health in disaster preparedness and recovery planning.
SN - 1654-9716
SN - 1654-9880
ER -