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Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Few studies exploring the actual practices implemented for long-term mental health and psychosocial support after a natural disaster have been published. This study aimed to reveal (1) the types of activities that were actually provided as mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the long-term phase after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and (2) the problems that must be addressed to provide post-disaster MHPSS activities. METHODS:An open-ended questionnaire was sent to organizations in the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were potentially involved in providing MHPSS to communities affected by the GEJE. The organizations were asked to describe their activities and the problems that needed to be addressed to provide these support activities. The collected statements were analysed using content analysis with NVivo11. RESULTS:The support activities conducted to provide MHPSS in the long-term phase after the catastrophe were diverse and classified into 7 major categories, namely, (1) one-on-one support for individuals in need of assistance, (2) support for collective activities, (3) support around living conditions and income, (4) increasing public awareness about mental health, (5) human resource development to improve response capabilities for MHPSS, (6) support for MHPSS providers, and (7) facilitating collaborations among the MHPSS activities provided to affected communities. Problems with human resources and funding were the most frequently mentioned concerns among the organizations participating in the survey. CONCLUSIONS:The establishment of systems to collect and share sufficient and relevant knowledge and to coordinate organizations for long-term post-disaster postventions would be desirable.

SUBMITTER: Seto M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6712862 | biostudies-other | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study.

Seto Moe M Nemoto Harumi H Kobayashi Natsuko N Kikuchi Saya S Honda Nami N Kim Yoshiharu Y Kelman Ilan I Tomita Hiroaki H

BMC psychiatry 20190827 1

<h4>Background</h4>Few studies exploring the actual practices implemented for long-term mental health and psychosocial support after a natural disaster have been published. This study aimed to reveal (1) the types of activities that were actually provided as mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the long-term phase after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and (2) the problems that must be addressed to provide post-disaster MHPSS activities.<h4>Methods</h4>An open-ended questionna ...[more]

PMID: 31455275

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Project description:ObjectiveFew studies have comprehensively examined changes in smoking status and related factors after a disaster. We examined these factors among residents of an evacuation area in Fukushima after the Great East Japan Earthquake.MethodsThe study participants included 58?755 men and women aged ?20 years who participated in the Fukushima Health Management Survey in 2012 after the disaster. Smoking status was classified as either current smokers or current non-smokers before and after the disaster. The participants were divided into the following groups: (1) non-smokers both before and after the disaster, (2) non-smokers before and smokers after the disaster, (3) smokers before and non-smokers after the disaster and (4) smokers both before and after the disaster. The adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% CIs of changes in smoking status for demographic, disaster-related and psychosocial factors were tested using logistic regression analysis that was stratified by smoking status before the disaster.ResultsAmong the 44?729 participants, who were non-smokers before the disaster, 634 (1.4%) began smoking after the disaster. Among the 14?025 smokers before the disaster, 1564 (11.1%) quit smoking after the disaster, and the proportion of smokers in the evacuation area consequently decreased from 21.2% to 19.6%. In the multivariable model, factors significantly associated with beginning smoking included being a male, being younger, having a lower education, staying in a rental house/apartment, house being damaged, having experienced a tsunami, change jobs and the presence of traumatic symptoms and non-specific psychological distress. On the contrary, factors associated with quitting smoking included being a female, being older, having a higher education and having a stable income.ConclusionThe proportion of smokers slightly decreased among residents in the evacuation area. The changes in smoking statuses were associated with disaster-associated psychosocial factors, particularly changes in living conditions, having experienced a tsunami, change jobs and developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Project description:Mental health is one of the most important issues facing disaster survivors. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence and correlates of mental health problems in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami at 6-11 months after the disaster. The questionnaire and notification were sent to the survivors in three municipalities in the Tohoku area of the Northern part of Honshu, Japan's largest island, between September 2011 and February 2012. Questionnaires were sent to 12,772, 11,411, and 18,648 residents in the Yamada, Otsuchi, and Rikuzentakata municipalities, respectively. Residents were asked to bring the completed questionnaires to their health check-ups. A total of 11,124 or (26.0%) of them underwent health check-ups, and 10,198 were enrolled. We excluded 179 for whom a K6 score was missing and two who were both 17 years of age, which left 10,025 study participants (3,934 male and 6,091 female, mean age 61.0 years). K6 was used to measure mental health problems. The respondents were classified into moderate (5-12 of K6) and serious mental health problems (13+). A total of 42.6% of the respondents had moderate or serious mental health problems. Multivariate analysis showed that women were significantly associated with mental health problems. Other variables associated with mental health problems were: younger male, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of a social network. An interaction effect of sex and economic status on severe mental health problems was statistically significant. Our findings suggest that mental health problems were prevalent in survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. For men and women, health complaints, severe economic status, relocations, and lack of social network may be important risk factors of poor mental health. For men, interventions focusing on economic support may be particularly useful in reducing mental health problems after the disaster.

Project description:Importance:The association of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster of March 11 and 12, 2011, in Fukushima, Japan, with birth rates has not been examined appropriately in the existing literature. Objective:To assess the midterm and long-term associations of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster with birth rates. Design, Setting, and Participants:Cohort study in which interrupted time series analyses were used to assess monthly changes in birth rates among residents of Fukushima City, Japan, from March 1, 2011, to December 31, 2017, relative to projected birth rates without the disaster based on predisaster trends. Birth rates from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2017, in Fukushima City were determined using information from the Fukushima City government office. Exposure:The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, expressed via 5 potential models of the association with birth rate: level change, level and slope changes, temporal level change, and temporal level change with 1 or 2 slope change(s). Main Outcomes and Measures:Birth rate, calculated from monthly data on the number of births and total population. Results:The mean birth rate before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster was 69.8 per 100 000 people per month; after the disaster, the mean birth rate was 61.9 per 100 000 people per month. Compared with birth rates before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, there was an estimated 10% reduction in monthly birth rates in Fukushima City (rate ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.86-0.93) in the first 2 years after the disaster. After that, the birth rate trend was similar to the predisaster trend. The predisaster trend suggested a continuous decrease in birth rate (rate ratio for 1 year, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.98-0.99). This gap model was optimal and parsimonious compared with others. A similar association was found when trimonthly averaged data were analyzed. Conclusions and Relevance:The Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster were followed by significant reductions in birth rates for 2 years. There was insufficient evidence to indicate that the trend in the 3 to 7 years after the disaster differed from the predisaster trends. The recovery from the reductions in the birth rate may be indicative of the rebuilding efforts. The continuing long-term decrease in birth rates observed before the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster suggests that continuing measures to support birth planning should be considered at the administrative level.

Dataset Information

Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study.

Publications

Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study.

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