PTSD in our elderly is a lesser-known side effect of extreme weather events
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and social isolation due to displacement and homelessness is not often talked about in mainstream media reports of such events like the Lismore floods or Cyclone Alfred.
But the trauma can be intense and long-lasting for older Australians, according to a team from Griffith University and Anglicare Southern Queensland.
Read more from The Senior:
During a public webinar on June 12, aged care expert Victoria Cain spoke of an Anglicare aged care resident living with dementia who now has severe PTSD "superimposed on his dementia" because of the Lismore floods of 2022.
"It's directly related to the floods because of the homelessness, so that alone is quite distressing ... many [aged care] residents have PTSD because of previous storm or flood events," said Ms Cain, Anglicare's Southern Queensland Clinical Lead, Specialist Dementia Care Program.
"You then have an increase of isolation for residents who can't actually get out of their rooms or out of the floors. So it leads to isolation, it leads to increased depression, it leads to increased lack of mobility."
In another instance, Ms Cain spoke of a recent stay in a hotel in Hervey Bay following Cyclone Alfred where the lifts had been inoperable since March and wouldn't be fixed for another 12 weeks.
For some people this may be seen as an inconvenience, but for the elderly woman she met living on the top floor she would be heavily impacted by climbing up and down five flights of stairs every day - almost cut off from the world.
Associate Professor Patricia Lee of Griffith University said whether it's bushfires, floods, cyclones or extreme heatwaves they all can have disruptive and harmful consequences on the elderly who need "continuous high care".
The university is currently working with Anglicare on a research project investigating climate-change vulnerability on aged care residents and associated health impacts, while also looking at adaption strategies.
"Older people are particularly vulnerable due to their age-related health conditions - chronic diseases, the climate vulnerabilities," Professor Lee said.
"It can be isolating for people with underlying healthy conditions and also it reduces their mobility and increase social isolation - especially for those who are living alone."
The research project will focus on two Queensland regional centres, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay.
Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE.
A forgotten side effect of extreme weather events, debilitating our elderly, is finally being brought into the light in a push for older Australians to be better cared for.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and social isolation due to displacement and homelessness is not often talked about in mainstream media reports of such events like the Lismore floods or Cyclone Alfred.
But the trauma can be intense and long-lasting for older Australians, according to a team from Griffith University and Anglicare Southern Queensland.
Read more from The Senior:
During a public webinar on June 12, aged care expert Victoria Cain spoke of an Anglicare aged care resident living with dementia who now has severe PTSD "superimposed on his dementia" because of the Lismore floods of 2022.
"It's directly related to the floods because of the homelessness, so that alone is quite distressing ... many [aged care] residents have PTSD because of previous storm or flood events," said Ms Cain, Anglicare's Southern Queensland Clinical Lead, Specialist Dementia Care Program.
"You then have an increase of isolation for residents who can't actually get out of their rooms or out of the floors. So it leads to isolation, it leads to increased depression, it leads to increased lack of mobility."
In another instance, Ms Cain spoke of a recent stay in a hotel in Hervey Bay following Cyclone Alfred where the lifts had been inoperable since March and wouldn't be fixed for another 12 weeks.
For some people this may be seen as an inconvenience, but for the elderly woman she met living on the top floor she would be heavily impacted by climbing up and down five flights of stairs every day - almost cut off from the world.
Associate Professor Patricia Lee of Griffith University said whether it's bushfires, floods, cyclones or extreme heatwaves they all can have disruptive and harmful consequences on the elderly who need "continuous high care".
The university is currently working with Anglicare on a research project investigating climate-change vulnerability on aged care residents and associated health impacts, while also looking at adaption strategies.
"Older people are particularly vulnerable due to their age-related health conditions - chronic diseases, the climate vulnerabilities," Professor Lee said.
"It can be isolating for people with underlying healthy conditions and also it reduces their mobility and increase social isolation - especially for those who are living alone."
The research project will focus on two Queensland regional centres, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay.
Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE.
A forgotten side effect of extreme weather events, debilitating our elderly, is finally being brought into the light in a push for older Australians to be better cared for.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and social isolation due to displacement and homelessness is not often talked about in mainstream media reports of such events like the Lismore floods or Cyclone Alfred.
But the trauma can be intense and long-lasting for older Australians, according to a team from Griffith University and Anglicare Southern Queensland.
Read more from The Senior:
During a public webinar on June 12, aged care expert Victoria Cain spoke of an Anglicare aged care resident living with dementia who now has severe PTSD "superimposed on his dementia" because of the Lismore floods of 2022.
"It's directly related to the floods because of the homelessness, so that alone is quite distressing ... many [aged care] residents have PTSD because of previous storm or flood events," said Ms Cain, Anglicare's Southern Queensland Clinical Lead, Specialist Dementia Care Program.
"You then have an increase of isolation for residents who can't actually get out of their rooms or out of the floors. So it leads to isolation, it leads to increased depression, it leads to increased lack of mobility."
In another instance, Ms Cain spoke of a recent stay in a hotel in Hervey Bay following Cyclone Alfred where the lifts had been inoperable since March and wouldn't be fixed for another 12 weeks.
For some people this may be seen as an inconvenience, but for the elderly woman she met living on the top floor she would be heavily impacted by climbing up and down five flights of stairs every day - almost cut off from the world.
Associate Professor Patricia Lee of Griffith University said whether it's bushfires, floods, cyclones or extreme heatwaves they all can have disruptive and harmful consequences on the elderly who need "continuous high care".
The university is currently working with Anglicare on a research project investigating climate-change vulnerability on aged care residents and associated health impacts, while also looking at adaption strategies.
"Older people are particularly vulnerable due to their age-related health conditions - chronic diseases, the climate vulnerabilities," Professor Lee said.
"It can be isolating for people with underlying healthy conditions and also it reduces their mobility and increase social isolation - especially for those who are living alone."
The research project will focus on two Queensland regional centres, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay.
Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE.
A forgotten side effect of extreme weather events, debilitating our elderly, is finally being brought into the light in a push for older Australians to be better cared for.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and social isolation due to displacement and homelessness is not often talked about in mainstream media reports of such events like the Lismore floods or Cyclone Alfred.
But the trauma can be intense and long-lasting for older Australians, according to a team from Griffith University and Anglicare Southern Queensland.
Read more from The Senior:
During a public webinar on June 12, aged care expert Victoria Cain spoke of an Anglicare aged care resident living with dementia who now has severe PTSD "superimposed on his dementia" because of the Lismore floods of 2022.
"It's directly related to the floods because of the homelessness, so that alone is quite distressing ... many [aged care] residents have PTSD because of previous storm or flood events," said Ms Cain, Anglicare's Southern Queensland Clinical Lead, Specialist Dementia Care Program.
"You then have an increase of isolation for residents who can't actually get out of their rooms or out of the floors. So it leads to isolation, it leads to increased depression, it leads to increased lack of mobility."
In another instance, Ms Cain spoke of a recent stay in a hotel in Hervey Bay following Cyclone Alfred where the lifts had been inoperable since March and wouldn't be fixed for another 12 weeks.
For some people this may be seen as an inconvenience, but for the elderly woman she met living on the top floor she would be heavily impacted by climbing up and down five flights of stairs every day - almost cut off from the world.
Associate Professor Patricia Lee of Griffith University said whether it's bushfires, floods, cyclones or extreme heatwaves they all can have disruptive and harmful consequences on the elderly who need "continuous high care".
The university is currently working with Anglicare on a research project investigating climate-change vulnerability on aged care residents and associated health impacts, while also looking at adaption strategies.
"Older people are particularly vulnerable due to their age-related health conditions - chronic diseases, the climate vulnerabilities," Professor Lee said.
"It can be isolating for people with underlying healthy conditions and also it reduces their mobility and increase social isolation - especially for those who are living alone."
The research project will focus on two Queensland regional centres, Toowoomba and Hervey Bay.
Share your thoughts in the comments below, or send a Letter to the Editor by CLICKING HERE.
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