Post-Traumatic Stress among Evacuees from the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires: Exploration of Psychological and Sleep Symptoms Three Months after the Evacuation

Genevieve Belleville; Marie-Christine Ouellet; Charles M Morin

doi:10.3390/ijerph16091604

Post-Traumatic Stress among Evacuees from the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfires: Exploration of Psychological and Sleep Symptoms Three Months after the Evacuation

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 May 8;16(9):1604. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16091604.

Authors

Genevieve Belleville¹, Marie-Christine Ouellet², Charles M Morin³

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. genevieve.belleville@psy.ulaval.ca.
² School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. marie-christine.ouellet@psy.ulaval.ca.
³ School of Psychology, Laval University, Quebec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. cmorin@psy.ulaval.ca.

Abstract

This study documents post-traumatic stress symptoms after the May 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray (Alberta, Canada). A sample of 379 evacuees completed an online questionnaire from July to September 2016, and a subsample of 55 completed a psychiatric/psychological diagnostic interview. According to a self-report questionnaire, 62.5% of respondents had a provisional post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interview confirmed that 29.1% met criteria for PTSD, 25.5% for depression, and 43.6% for insomnia; in most cases, insomnia was definitely or probably related to the fires. Traumatic exposure may elicit or exacerbate sleep problems, which are closely associated with PTSD after a disaster.

Keywords: mental health; post-traumatic stress disorder; psychological distress; sleep.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Alberta
Depression / psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders / psychology*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Wildfires*