TY - JOUR
T1 - Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness in Japan
T2 - A Survey of Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals
AU - Nagata, Takashi
AU - Arishima, Takuro
AU - Yamaguchi, Yoshihiro
AU - Hirohashi, Nobuyuki
AU - Usa, Toshiro
AU - Hasegawa, Arifumi
AU - Hanada, Hiroyuki
AU - Yamamoto, Naoyuki
AU - Okamoto, Tadashi
AU - Akahoshi, Tomohiko
AU - Hamada, Masahiko
AU - Abe, Takeru
AU - Kikukawa, Makoto
AU - Nakao, Hiroyuki
AU - Yamamura, Hitoshi
AU - Sakamoto, Tetsuya
AU - Akashi, Makoto
AU - Hagihara, Akihito
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
PY - 2023/2/7
Y1 - 2023/2/7
N2 - Objective: Based on experiences following the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant accident in 2011, Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals (NECHs) were designated as centers for radiation disaster management in Japan. This study aimed to investigate their current status and identify areas for improvement. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2018. Demographic data were collected by a questionnaire with free text responses about attitudes toward NECHs. Considerations regarding risk communications during a radiation disaster were analyzed using qualitative text mining analysis. Results: A total of 36 hospitals participated in this study. Only 31% of NECHs anticipated a radiation disaster. The importance of business continuity plans and risk communications was shown. Text analysis identified 7 important categories for health care workers during a radiation disaster, including media response, communications to hospital staff, risk communications, radiation effects on children, planning for a radiation disaster in the region, rumors, and the role in the region. Conclusion: The radiation disaster medical system and NECHs in Japan were surveyed. The importance of risk communications, planning for a radiation disaster in each region, and the role in the region are identified as issues that need to be addressed.
AB - Objective: Based on experiences following the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant accident in 2011, Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals (NECHs) were designated as centers for radiation disaster management in Japan. This study aimed to investigate their current status and identify areas for improvement. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2018. Demographic data were collected by a questionnaire with free text responses about attitudes toward NECHs. Considerations regarding risk communications during a radiation disaster were analyzed using qualitative text mining analysis. Results: A total of 36 hospitals participated in this study. Only 31% of NECHs anticipated a radiation disaster. The importance of business continuity plans and risk communications was shown. Text analysis identified 7 important categories for health care workers during a radiation disaster, including media response, communications to hospital staff, risk communications, radiation effects on children, planning for a radiation disaster in the region, rumors, and the role in the region. Conclusion: The radiation disaster medical system and NECHs in Japan were surveyed. The importance of risk communications, planning for a radiation disaster in each region, and the role in the region are identified as issues that need to be addressed.
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U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2021.348
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2021.348
M3 - Article
C2 - 35129102
AN - SCOPUS:85124675622
SN - 1935-7893
VL - 17
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
IS - 2
M1 - e78
ER -
