Earthquake Preparedness Among Japanese Hemodialysis Patients in Prefectures Heavily Damaged by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors related to earthquake preparedness in Japanese hemodialysis patients. We focused on three aspects of the related factors: health condition factors, social factors, and the experience of disasters. A mail survey of all the members of the Japan Association of Kidney Disease Patients in three Japanese prefectures (N = 4085) was conducted in March, 2013. We obtained 1841 valid responses for analysis. The health factors covered were: activities of daily living (ADL), mental distress, primary renal diseases, and the duration of dialysis. The social factors were: socioeconomic status, family structure, informational social support, and the provision of information regarding earthquake preparedness from dialysis facilities. The results show that the average percentage of participants that had met each criterion of earthquake preparedness in 2013 was 53%. Hemodialysis patients without disabled ADL, without mental distress, and requiring longer periods of dialysis, were likely to meet more of the earthquake preparedness criteria. Hemodialysis patients who had received informational social support from family or friends, had lived with spouse and children in comparison to living alone, and had obtained information regarding earthquake preparedness from dialysis facilities, were also likely to meet more of the earthquake preparedness criteria.

Factors related to preparedness for emergency hemodialysis in the event of a natural disaster

“…In this study, those who answered that they had not received or did not remember any disaster response or preparedness information from the dialysis facility were not prepared for emergency dialysis treatment. Sugisawa et al [ 8 ] revealed that those who had received an explanation of earthquake preparedness from a dialysis facility were better prepared for earthquakes than those who had not. Those who believe they have insufficient free time to prepare should be given assistance and provided with simple forms and instructions to streamline the process.…”

“…[21] In this study, those who did not expect safety confirmation from family members living separately were not prepared for dialysis treatment. Sugisawa et al [8] found that information provided by family and friends had a significant impact on compliance with more earthquake preparedness items. [8] These results suggest that close relationships with family members who do not necessarily live together could play a role in disaster preparedness among dialysis patients.…”

“…Local governments and individual dialysis facilities in Japan, have formulated guidelines and manuals for disaster countermeasures [7] . However, the explanation regarding disaster preparedness for dialysis patients is inadequate [8] . After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, many affected dialysis patients were unprepared.…”

“…[ 7 ] However, the explanation regarding disaster preparedness for dialysis patients is inadequate. [ 8 ] After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, many affected dialysis patients were unprepared. Based on this experience, many experts began to create a “disaster patient card” that describes the patient's dialysis treatment conditions.…”