The Research Problem
On record, 4,327 natural disasters around the world in the past decade have left 1.7 billion survivors, which includes many older adults, and the numbers have exponentially increased due to climate change in an ageing world. Disaster survivors often experience mental health challenges because they are exposed to, not only traumatic disaster experiences, but also chronic post-disaster stress that cuts across their lives. The mental health of older survivors is particularly vulnerable due to greater stigma around seeking mental health treatment. Leisure –defined as participation in freely chosen activities outside paid and unpaid responsibilities – has been identified as a non-stigmatized, effective coping and resilience resource for disaster survivors. Leisure can be particularly valuable mental health support avenue for older adults.
Research Design
The central research question of our study is: “what roles does leisure play in enhancing mental health of older disaster survivors?” Our overall research design is a qualitative case study. We will conduct semi-structured interviews with older natural disaster survivors and disaster relief practitioners who served older survivors in Japan, Canada, Taiwan, and South Africa. Nagata and Rakwal will lead interviews in Japan mostly with survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Kono will conduct interviews in Canada largely with survivors of the 2016 Fort McMurray and the 2024 Jasper wildfires in Alberta. Chow and Chang will recruit survivors affected by the Earthquake in Hualien in 2024. Govender will recruit survisors affected by tornados in KwaZulu-Natal province in 2024. Our interviews will be transcribed verbatim and reflexive thematic analysis will be conducted. Our analysis will take a mix of inductive and deductive processes.
Project Objectives
Our proposed project aims to identify how leisure – an effective but often overlooked coping strategy – can be incorporated into mental health support for older disaster survivors. Our research can drive innovation in disaster response by unlocking the overlooked power of leisure. We will analyze interview data by coding and generating themes. Using nuanced, rich accounts on mental health and leisure experiences in post-disaster contexts, we will develop recommendations for how to incorporate leisure in post-disaster mental health support for older survivors.
WUN is supporting our research by facilitating intercontinental, interdisciplinary research team building and by promoting knowledge translation. With the generous WUN funding, we will develop a leisure-based mental health intervention resource, which will be shared with the public to enhance disaster preparedness. Additionally, we will organize an in-person workshop with disaster relief policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in Taiwan. Our project will contribute to addressing age-based inequality in post-disaster mental health support.