Abstract

Background: Wildfires are occurring more often and with greater intensity, leading to longer and harsher fire seasons. As a result, children are more frequently exposed to wildfire smoke, which increases their risk of mental and physical health effects. Purpose: The purpose of our scoping review is to explore the current literature on what is known about the direct and indirect impacts of wildfires on the mental and physical health of school-age children in North America (5 to 18-year-olds). Methods: A health sciences librarian-assisted literature search, with input from the research team, was performed. Results: A total of 16 studies were selected. Common mental health symptoms such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thinking, and post-traumatic stress disorder have been identified. The findings of this review are in line with recent studies showing a connection between adult wildfire exposure and respiratory conditions; however, no cardiovascular health effects in children were identified. Conclusions: The available studies in our review demonstrate that wildfires do increase the impacts on both mental and physical health postexposure in school-age children. Future research should specifically include larger samples, more qualitative and longitudinal studies that can more effectively analyze the effects of wildfire events on psychological factors over time, conceptual frameworks, and exposure metrics specific for PM2.5 from wildfire smoke.

Department(s)

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering

Publication Status

Open Access

Comments

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Grant 1P2CES033430‐01

Keywords and Phrases

mental health; pediatric; wildfire

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1744-6171; 1073-6077

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 Wiley, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Nov 2024

PubMed ID

39545331

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