Prevention of injuries and diseases in non-professional disaster volunteer activities in the Great East Japan Earthquake areas: A preliminary study

Management Challenges of Informal Volunteers: The Case of Kermanshah Earthquake in Iran (2017)

OBJECTIVES

Two of the 5 great earthquakes have occurred in Iran between 1990 and 2005. Informal volunteers' management is a determinant factor in disaster management. This research was conducted to investigate the management challenges of informal volunteers after the Kermanshah earthquake.

METHODS

The study is qualitative, done by content analysis. Data were gathered by observation and semi-structured interview.

RESULTS

Analysis of 12 interviews resulted in 4 main categories (inappropriate dispatch, volunteers' inefficiency, decrease in volunteers' incentive, deficiency of welfare services) and 11 subcategories.

DISCUSSION

To avoid mistrust and decrease in motivation, proposed actions are: standardize information collection, apply effective communication, create registration networks and accreditation of certificates and expertise, and perform periodic drills.

CONCLUSION

We recommend the start of extracurricular programs and applying potential volunteers within the preparedness phase, and follow-up at the beginning of the response phase. Decrease of motivation to participate in future events needs to be studied more comprehensively.

A Systematic Review of Health Outcomes Among Disaster and Humanitarian Responders

Introduction Disaster and humanitarian responders are at-risk of experiencing a wide range of physical and psychological health conditions, from minor injuries to chronic mental health problems and fatalities. This article reviews the current literature on the major health outcomes of responders to various disasters and conflicts in order to better inform individuals of the risks and to inform deploying agencies of the health care needs of responders.

METHODS

In March 2014, an EMBASE search was conducted using pre-defined search criteria. Two reviewers screened the resultant 2,849 abstracts and the 66 full-length manuscripts which are included in the review.

RESULTS

The majority of research on health outcomes of responders focused on mental health (57 of 66 articles). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were the most studied diagnoses with prevalence of PTSD ranging from 0%-34% and depression from 21%-53%. Physical health outcomes were much less well-studied and included a wide range of environmental, infectious, and traumatic conditions such as heat stroke, insect bites, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, and respiratory diseases, as well as burns, fractures, falls, and other traumatic injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of mental health disorders in responders may vary more and be higher than previously suggested. Overall health outcomes of responders are likely poorly monitored and under-reported. Improved surveillance systems and risk mitigation strategies should be employed in all disaster and conflict responses to better protect individual responders. Garbern SC , Ebbeling LG , Bartels SA . A systematic review of health outcomes among disaster and humanitarian responders. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(6):635-642.

Aftershocks associated with impaired health caused by the great East Japan disaster among youth across Japan: a national cross-sectional survey

Background

The Great East Japan earthquake, subsequent tsunamis and the Fukushima nuclear incident had a tremendous impact on Japanese society. Although small-scale surveys have been conducted in highly affected areas, few have elucidated the disaster’s effect on health from national perspective, which is necessary to prepare national policy and response.

Objective

The aim of the present study was to describe prefecture-level health status and investigate associations with number of aftershocks, seismic intensity, a closer geographical location to the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, or higher reported radiation dose in each prefecture even after adjusting for individual socioeconomic factors, by utilizing individual-level data acquired from a national cross-sectional Internet survey as well as officially reported prefecture-level data.

Methods

A Japanese government research institute obtained 12,000 participants by quota sampling and 7335 participants were eligible for the analysis in an age range between 17 and 27 years old. We calculated the percentage of people with decreased subjective health in each prefecture after the earthquake. Variability introduced by a small sample size for some prefectures was smoothed using empirical Bayes estimation with a random-intercept logistic model, with and without demographic factors. Multilevel logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for change of subjective health associated with prefecture-level and individual-level factors.

Results

Adjusted empirical Bayes estimates were higher for respondents commuting in the northeast region (Iwate 14%, Miyagi 19%, and Fukushima 28%), which faces the Pacific Ocean, while the values for Akita (10%) and Yamagata (8%) prefectures, which do not face the Pacific Ocean, were lower than those of Tokyo (12%). The values from the central to the western region were clearly lower. The number of aftershocks was coherently associated with decreased health (OR 1.05 per 100 times, 95% CI 1.04-1.06; P<.001) even after adjusting for covariates (OR 1.02 per 100 times, 95% CI 1.00-1.05; 1.32 per 1000 times, 95% CI 1.03-1.71; P=.049). In contrast, seismic intensity of the initial earthquake (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.65-1.17; P=.36), radiation dose (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.82-1.64; P=.41), and distance from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (OR 1.00, 95% CI 0.99-1.00; P=.66) were not. Change in job condition (OR 2.05, 95% CI 1.72-2.45; P<.001), female (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.19-1.69; P<.001), higher age (OR 1.06 per year, 95% CI 1.02-1.11; P=.005), and duration of evacuation longer than 4 weeks (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.06-1.97; P=.02) seemed to decrease perceived health status.

Conclusions

We found nationwide differences that show decreased health status because of the Great East Japan disaster according to prefecture. The number of aftershocks, change in work conditions, being female, a higher age, and duration of the evacuation were risk factors for the population after the major earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear incident.