NEW YORK — A key role for psychiatrists is assessing the mental health needs of a community affected by natural disaster, Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, told Healio at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.
“Floods, earthquakes and fires are all becoming more common, most of us believe as a result of climate change,” said Ritchie, chair of psychiatry at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
According to Ritchie, in the wake of such natural disasters, psychiatrists should first be mindful of how the event might shape the mental health of the affected community in