Wellbeing in the aftermath of floods.

Published onlineJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The interactions between flood events, their aftermath, and recovery leading to health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals are complex, and the pathways and mechanisms through which wellbeing is affected are often hidden and remain under-researched. This study analyses the diverse processes that explain changes in wellbeing for those experiencing flooding. It identifies key pathways to wellbeing outcomes that concern perceptions of lack of agency, dislocation from home, and disrupted futures inducing negative impacts, with offsetting positive effects through community networks and interactions. The mixed method study is based on data from repeated qualitative semi-structured interviews (n=60) and a structured survey (n=1000) with individuals that experienced flooding directly during winter 2013/14 in two UK regions. The results show for the first time the diversity and intersection of pathways to wellbeing outcomes in the aftermath of floods. The findings suggest that enhanced public health planning and interventions could focus on the precise practices and mechanisms that intersect to produce anxiety, stress, and their amelioration at individual and community levels.This research was undertaken with funding from the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office, and funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council [Grant: ES/M006867/1]. The public interview transcripts can be found in the UK Data Archive (www.data-archive.co.uk). The authors wish to thank Louisa Evans and Saffron O’Neill for collaboration and the members of the public and the stakeholders that participated in the research. For comments on earlier drafts and versions of this paper, thanks also go to Angie Bone, Sari Kovats, and participants in the Sydney Ideas Lecture, Sydney University, March 2015, our report launch meeting at the Royal Geographical Society, London, June 2016, and the RGS annual conference sessions, Exeter, September 2015

Moral reasoning in adaptation to climate change

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Moral foundations theory argues that moral reasoning is widely observed and fundamental to the legitimacy of relevant governance and policy interventions. A new analytical framework to examine and test how moral reasoning underpins and legitimizes governance and practice on adaptation to climate change risks is proposed. It develops a typology of eight categories of vulnerability-based and system-based moral reasoning that pertain to the dilemmas around adaptation and examines the prevalence of these moral categories in public discourse about specific adaptation issues. The framework is tested using data on climate change impact, adaptation, and societal responsibility, drawn from 14 focus groups comprising 148 participants across the UK. Participants consistently use moral reasoning to explain their views on climate adaptation; these include both vulnerability-based and system-based framings. These findings explain public responses to adaptation options and governance, and have implications for the direction of adaptation policy, including understanding which types of reasoning support politically legitimate interventions.We acknowledge funding from the University of Exeter Humanities and Social Science Strategy; the UK Economic and Social Research Council (Grant ES/M006867/1); and National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England. We thank IPSOS-MORI and the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs for access to the data used here. We benefitted from interactions with Karen Parkhill, Ben Wheeler, Stuart Capstick and Saffron O’Neill and feedback from participants at the Governing Sustainability workshop at the University of Sydney, March 2015, and the Royal Meteorological Society conference, London, November 2015. We further benefitted from helpful guidance from David Schlosberg and from two referees. This version remains our sole responsibility

Narratives of recovery after floods: Mental health, institutions, and intervention.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThere is increasing evidence that flood events affect the mental health of those experiencing them, with recognition that the period of recovery after the event is particularly important to outcomes. Previous research on flooding has argued that there is a recovery gap that occurs during the long process of recovery at the point when the support provision from public authorities and agencies diminishes, and less well-defined interactions with private actors, such as insurers, begin. This concept highlights the importance of the support and intervention from authorities and other institutions for recovery processes. To date, little research has focused specifically on these relationships and their consequences for people's mental wellbeing through recovery. This study examines the processes of individuals' recovery from flood events, focusing on the role of interaction with agencies in the trajectories of mental health journeys. The analysis applies a narrative approach to in-depth repeated interviews carried out over a fifteen-month period with nine individuals whose homes were inundated by floods in 2013/14 in Somerset, UK. The results suggest strong evidence for institutional support having an important role in how individuals experience their post-flood mental health recovery journeys. The data reveal strategies to maintain psychological and emotional resilience at distinct periods during recovery, and show that both institutional actions and the perceived absence of support in specific circumstances affect the mental health burden of flood events.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Three-dimensional digital mapping of ecosystems: a new era in spatial ecology

Ecological processes occur over multiple spatial, temporal and thematic scales in three-dimensional (3D) ecosystems. Characterizing and monitoring change in 3D structure at multiple scales is challenging within the practical constraints of conventional ecological tools. Remote sensing from satellites and crewed aircraft has revolutionized broad-scale spatial ecology, but fine-scale patterns and processes operating at sub-metre resolution have remained understudied over continuous extents. We introduce two high-resolution remote sensing tools for rapid and accurate 3D mapping in ecology—terrestrial laser scanning and structure-from-motion photogrammetry. These technologies are likely to become standard sampling tools for mapping and monitoring 3D ecosystem structure across currently under-sampled scales. We present practical guidance in the use of the tools and address barriers to widespread adoption, including testing the accuracy of structure-from-motion models for ecologists. We aim to highlight a new era in spatial ecology that uses high-resolution remote sensing to interrogate 3D digital ecosystems

Community resilience and wellbeing: An exploration of relationality and belonging after disasters

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordCommunity resilience is commonly held to be critical for coping with adversity and disturbance. Although the process of community resilience is often contested and critiqued, the enactment of social relations within communities has been shown to ameliorate the worst impacts of disaster events on the well-being of their members. Here, we propose that well-being in the aftermath of disasters is shaped by processes of relationality and belonging within communities. This study uses data from longitudinal mixed-methods research with flood-affected communities in southwest and eastern England directly affected by long-duration and high-impact floods. Analysis from in-depth interviews conducted over eighteen months and from cross-sectional surveys of affected populations shows that active belonging and relational capital are related to self-reported well-being. The results further show that active belonging is consistently significant for well-being, whereas relational capital is only significantly correlated to well-being later in the recovery period, and that social identity processes are central in the link between community dynamics and well-being. The changing identity processes include altered perceptions of community membership and the use of collective identities to frame personal experience. These results suggest that community resilience processes and their relationship to individual well-being are not fixed but evolve through stress, trauma, and renewal.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)Wellcome Trus

Coastal flooding and frontline health care services: challenges for flood risk resilience in the English health care system.

Objectives Our objective was to assess the health care system impacts associated with the December 2013 east coast flooding in Boston, Lincolnshire, in order to gain an insight into the capacity of the health care sector to respond to high-impact weather. Methods Semistructured interviews were held with regional strategic decision makers and local service managers within 1 km of the recorded flood outline to ascertain their experiences, views and reflections concerning the event and its associated health impacts and disruption to health care services. A snowballing sampling technique was used to ensure the study had participants across a broad range of expertise. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data analysis was preformed using NVivo (v10) to apply a thematic coding and develop a framework of ideas. Results The results of this case study provide a vital insight into the health care disruption caused by flooding. All sectors of the health care system suffered disruption, which placed a strain on the whole system and reduced the capacity of the sector to respond to the health consequences of flooding and delivering routine health care. The formal recovery phase in Lincolnshire was stood-down on 4th February 2014. The results of this work indicate limitations in preparedness of the health care system for the reasonable worse-case scenario for an east coast surge event. Conclusions The health care sector appears to have limited capacity to respond to weather-related impacts and is therefore unprepared for the risks associated with a future changing climate. Further work is required to ensure that the health care system continues to review and learn from such events to increase climate resilience. </jats:sec

Public perceptions of management priorities for the English Channel region

The English Channel region is an area of high conservational importance, as well being a contributor to economic prosperity, social well-being and quality of life of the people living around it. There is a need to incorporate societal elements into marine and coastal governance, to improve management of the Channel ecosystem. Public Perception Research (PPR) is a relatively unexplored dimension of marine science, with limited research at the scale of the Channel region. Using an online survey, this study examined the public’s use of, and funding priorities for, the Channel’s marine and coastal environment. It revealed that there are variations in how the English and French coastlines are used. Environmental issues were generally viewed as being more important than economic ones. Country-level differences were observed for public uses of, and priorities for the Channel region. Cleaner water and beaches, and improved coastal flood defences, were more highly prioritised by English respondents, while offshore renewable energy and sustainability of businesses were more highly prioritised by French respondents. The paper contributes to the debate on the value of PPR by addressing evidence gaps in the English Channel region, and to PPR literature more broadly. It provides baseline data to inform future engagement strategies for the marine and coastal governance of the Channel region specifically. It also identifies how this type of research has implications for the wider marine and coastal environment, including contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 14 on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources

Research to action to address inequities: the experience of the Cape Town Equity Gauge

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