'Big jump' of mental issues from Fort McMurray fire but human contact helps: study
Workers put out markers around a devastated area of Timberlea in Fort McMurray Alta, on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Newly published research suggests the fire cast a lasting shadow over the lives of many residents who are still experiencing elevated rates of depression and related mental-health problems. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson EDMONTON -- The immense wildfire that scorched Fort McMurray in 2016 may have blackened more than homes. Newly published research suggests the fire cast a lasting shadow over the lives of many residents who are still experiencing elevated rates of depression and related mental-health problems. "There's been a big jump," said Vincent Agyapong, a psychiatrist and University of Alberta professor whose paper was published Saturday in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addictions. But the research also revealed a way to help dispel the darkness. Agyapong was working in Fort McMurray when the fire that came to be ...