What’s the context for this evidence review?
Climate change already has a major impact on mental health and wellbeing globally and this is expected to increase as its effects develop. While this is a growing area of study, we already know that the interaction between climate change and mental health and wellbeing is extensive, complex, and multifaceted.
The impacts of climate change may be direct (through traumatic extreme weather events), indirect (through wider environmental, social and economic changes), or can be anticipatory and vicarious (anxiety about future events or in reaction to media reports).
Emerging evidence also suggests that climate change and its social, economic and health consequences are likely to affect different groups in unequal ways, potentially compounding existing inequalities.
The scope for our review of evidence
We have been commissioned to conduct a review of evidence and practice around the question of climate change, mental health and wellbeing relevant to a Scottish context.
What is the evidence of climate related impacts to mental health and wellbeing in Scotland, including the prevalence of eco-distress and eco-anxiety, and how might these affect different population groups?
What evidence is available about steps that government and others can take to address these issues?
What evidence is available about the mental health and wellbeing effects of climate action (both mitigation and adaptation)?
The methods we used
We are conducting a rapid evidence review of relevant peer-reviewed journal articles and ‘grey literature’. This involves the compilation of a longlist of items based on guidance from experts, a systematic search of academic databases, and ‘snowballing’ (identifying references of relevance within longlisted items).
The longlist is then further refined based on applying weighted criteria, including relevance to research questions, quality of evidence and relevance to a Scottish context to form the shortlist, which we then review and synthesise.
How this fits in
This project represents a meeting between two areas of great interest to the Institute. One is mental health and wellbeing, in which we have an extensive track record, and the other is climate change, in which our knowledge and expertise is rapidly expanding.
This represents a step towards our strategic goal of developing our work in relation to the environment and is a companion to the Theory of Change work that we are conducting with the Scottish Just Transition Commission.
