Commentary

Climate change and rural mental health: a social geographic perspective

AUTHORS

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Candice P Boyd
1 PhD(Psych), PhD(Geog/Creative Arts), ARC DECRA Fellow *

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Hester Parr
2 PhD(Geog), Professor of Human Geography

AFFILIATIONS

1 School of Geography, University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia

2 School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, East Quadrangle, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland

ACCEPTED: 23 October 2020


early abstract:

Context: The objective of this commentary is to suggest ways in which current and future research on climate change and rural mental health can be enhanced by social geographic perspectives.  As the effects of climate change escalate, the mental health of rural and remote communities will be placed at increasing risk.  As such, it is imperative that academics and practitioners recognise the value of multi-disciplinary approaches to tackling this issue.  
Issues: As social geographers, the authors of this commentary outline concepts from their field that they find helpful in understanding the relationship between people and places, and how these relations give rise to emotions that are responsive to environmental conditions.  
Lessons Learned: Ultimately, the authors would like to prompt a re-thinking of ‘social’ as a category which is usually confined to interpersonal interactions between humans and suggest a broadening of the concept to include both human and non-human worlds.