My research focuses on investigating the psychological consequences of extreme weather events and climate-related hazards to understand the effects of climate change on mental health. My thesis is titled "Climate Change, Climatic Stressors, Psychological Responses: A Perspective from Switzerland and The Gambia."
The first PhD project aims to explore the administration of psychiatric medications during heat, with a particular focus on assessing the heat sensitivity of antipsychotics and antidepressant medications. Considering that some studies suggest these medications impact thermoregulation, leading to hyperthermia, hypothermia, impaired heat tolerance, and changes in sweating and blood flow.
The second project involves identifying and characterising the specific demographics and mental health conditions that render individuals most vulnerable to the adverse effects of heat (hospitalizations), such as people living with pre-existing mental health conditions in all cantons in Switzerland. This helps to identify the mental health conditions responsible for increasing consultations in psychiatry following exposure to heat.
The third and last project is to explore and examine how varying levels of heat impact mental health across different individual characteristics and daily activities in the adult population of Base Santa Su, The Gambia.
