Earth Observers

Perth | Measuring the Value of Earth Observations

Using Satellites to Predict Mental Health Crises

High-Level Project Summary

We developed a proposal on using Earth Observation data to model and predict areas and populations at risk of mental health decline. We discussed how these predictions will allow for preventative measures to be put in place to reduce the risk and severity of mental health decline, and prevent mental health services from being overwhelmed. A proactive approach to mental health is far superior to a purely reactive approach. Protecting the mental health of a population is important as a mentally healthy population has a wide range of socioeconomic benefits.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NaLoyVXv0etqeqL84rpm74pD2rCV6Rck/view

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NaLoyVXv0etqeqL84rpm74pD2rCV6Rck/view

Detailed Project Description

With population mental health playing an increasingly important role in modern society, and the socioeconomic effects of a mentally healthy society becoming better understood, it is important to be able to sustain a mentally healthy population. Studies have shown that the best and most sustainable method of dealing with mental health issues is a preventative one. Because of this, it is vital to be able to predict when a population's mental health is about to decline so that preventative measures can be put in place to both prevent the severity of the decline, and handle the increase in demand for mental health services.

Our project proposes using NASA satellite data to model and predict environmental changes and events that can negatively effect the populations mental health, allowing for governments to employ preventative measures and prepare for an increase in demand for mental health services.

We also propose developing a standardized Impact Assessment Framework to track and measure KPIs related to "flattening the curve" of mental health decline in a series of socioeconomic areas. Specifically, we want to identify a reduction in spikes in negatively impacted social statistics & services usage when compared to previous similar incidents that predate the initiative.

The benefits of our proposal will be seen by improving or keeping steady the population mental health. Aside from a happier population, a mentally healthy population also has a range of socioeconomic benefits.

Space Agency Data

We were specifically inspired by discovering how NASA satellite data was used by the Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) in East Africa, which lead us to look into the effects of drought and specifically the mental health impacts of drought. We were further inspired by the thought of using satellite data to model and predict mental health crises, which lead to our proposal.

Data and Sources Used

With population mental health playing an increasingly important role in modern society, and the socioeconomic effects of a mentally healthy society becoming better understood, it is important to be able to sustain a mentally healthy population. Studies have shown that the best and most sustainable method of dealing with mental health issues is a preventative one [1] [2]. Because of this, it is vital to be able to predict when a population's mental health is about to decline so that preventative measures can be put in place to both prevent the severity of the decline, and handle the increase in demand for mental health services.

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5330334/#CIT0001

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472261/

Impact of Environment on Mental Health

Environmental aspects and events play a significant role on mental health. Of these many aspects and events, air pollution and extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are key influences on population mental health for which preventative measures are available.

Studies have shown that air pollution has an adverse effect on mental health, with people having a higher probability of suffering from a decline in mental health the worse the air quality. The study found this was most likely to affect people in low income circumstances as high income earners were able to deal with and protect themselves from air pollution, showing that there are methods available to prevent the risk of air pollution related mental health decline.

[3] https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/abe88f/meta

A 2014 study linked drought and mental health of people living in rural and regional areas of Australia. The study found that agricultural workers affected by drought were more likely to suffer a decline in mental health, with a more severe drought influencing a greater decline. Also significant is that climate change scenarios suggest that the severity and frequency of drought will increase worldwide, requiring early prevention methods to be devised to protect agricultural workers.

[4] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11205-014-0638-2

Studies have shown that populations in areas exposed to floods have a higher prevalence of mental health problems, with the mental health impact being dependent on a range of factors. The two critical factors found were water depth and lack of flood warning, with other stressors being related to evacuation, displacement, disruption to services and amenities, and lack of post-flood support. Of these factors, preventative measures can be put in place to warn of approaching floods and to prepare effective post flood support, reducing impact of flooding on population mental health. Just like drought, climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and severity of flooding making early prevention methods crucial for protecting the mental health of those in flood affected areas.

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33227944/

[6] https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/22/8581/htm

Modelling Environmental Aspects and Events Using Satellites

NASA scientists collaborated with civil society stakeholders to develop global air pollution and climate indicators based on satellite data. Pollution observing satellites have enabled scientists to track global air pollution, allowing preventative measures to be put in place in locations suffering from poor air quality, or at risk of suffering from declining air quality, to protect the mental health of the affected population.

[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7334378/

NASA satellites are currently used by organisations to monitor areas at risk of drought, and to predict when droughts will occur. For example, the Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) uses NASA satellite data in East Africa to identify potential drought conditions and advise decision makers on the actions to take to mitigate the effects of the drought so that the situation does not become dire. By enabling decision makers to take action before the drought occurs, the effect of the drought on agricultural workers, and the decline of their mental health, can be significantly reduced.

[8] https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/article/keeping-dry-eye-drought-east-africa

[9] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/a-steady-drip-with-nasa-satellites

The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) mission is a joint satellite mission between NASA and CNES. The satellite, to be launched in 2022, will provide a wealth of water information that can be used for a wide range of purposes. Specifically, it can identify flood hazards that can allow for mitigation methods to be implemented. It can additionally provide missing data that is needed for improved flood modelling and predictions, enabling preventative warnings and measures to be put in place for regions at risk of being flooded.

[10] https://swot.jpl.nasa.gov/applications/applications-areas/

The effect is stronger in rural counties, which tend to be poorer than urban counties. A poor mental health day in rural counties was associated with a reduction of 2.3 percent in income growth, compared with only a 0.87 percent reduction in urban counties, so agricultural communities are adversely affected.

[11] https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180730120359.htm

A systematic review of the outcomes, locations, study designs, and methods of current studies on farmers’ mental health. In particular, this review aims to fill an important gap in understanding of the potential key risk factors affecting farmers’ mental health around the world. This highlights how a proactive approach to mental health can mitigate the risk factors and provide targeted support and interventions, reducing the impact and fostering a more resilient and informed agricultural community.

[12] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6926562/

As noted in the article, evidence based prevention and health promotion is defined as the "conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about interventions for individuals, communities and populations to facilitate the currently best possible outcomes in reducing the incidence of diseases and in enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health". Evidence from systematic research aims to avoid uncertainty in decisions due to lack of information, or decisions based on biased assumptions, which might in turn lead to wasting time and resources or investing in interventions with detrimental outcomes. Through the integration of satellite imagery and understanding of the environmental impact, we can use these additional data sets to inform where to direct resources to support mental health.

[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1472261/

Landsat imagery and data is used for a wide range of applications. Irrigation and water use efficiency as well as crop production and yield estimates provide indicative models which could be more widely deployed across different areas to provide insights to policy and decision makers to understand agricultural areas most at risk.

[14] https://www.usgs.gov/centers/fort/science/agriculture-landsat-imagery-a-unique-resource?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

Hackathon Journey

Our Space Apps experience was a positive one, with our local lead and mentors being incredibly helpful in guiding us and enhancing our experience. We were inspired to choose this challenge based on the skill set of our team, but were further inspired once we found what we thought was a unique solution to our challenge.

We approached the challenge by going through a data discovery process, where we went through NASA Earth Observation information to start building a plan for how we would tackle the solution. We were fortunate enough to quickly come up with an idea that inspired us during this process, which quickly enabled us to begin building our solution.

Any setbacks were resolved through whiteboarding our problems and working them out as a team, or reaching out to the mentors for advice or guidance.

We'd like to thank Conrad Pires, our local lead, and all the other mentors involved that helped us throughout our challenge.