Impact of Natural Disaster Combined with Nuclear Power Plant Accidents on Local Medical Services: a Case Study of Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Kodama, Yuko; Oikawa, Tomoyoshi; Hayashi, Kaoru; Takano, M.; Nagano, Mayumi; Onoda, Katsuko; Yoshida, Toshiharu; Takada, Akemi; Hanai, Tatsuo; Shimada, Shunji; Shimada, Satoko; Nishiuchi, Yasuyuki; Onoda, Syuichi; Monma, K; Tsubokura, Masaharu; Matsumura, Tomoko; Kami, Masahiro; Kanazawa, Yukio

doi:10.1017/dmp.2014.112

Cited by 78 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Second, disruption of the supply of commodities such as food, fuel, and the means of transportation. Many distributors outside of the Soso district refused to send their staff within a 30-km radius of the NPP based on ground security [10]. As a result, these officially habitable areas adjacent to the no-entry zone were confronted with a shortage of basic necessities such as food and fuel, which caused mass evacuation by the residents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, these officially habitable areas adjacent to the no-entry zone were confronted with a shortage of basic necessities such as food and fuel, which caused mass evacuation by the residents. Third, many staff members, especially mothers with small children, were anxious about radiation exposure to their children rather than that to themselves, and voluntarily decided to evacuate [10]. This situation may partly explain why the number of nurses and clerks, majority of whom were women, decreased more rapidly than that of medical doctors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Soso district, little information was available on the outcomes of the NPP accidents, which fostered fear among the staff at local medical services [10]. Second, assurance of security for not only hospital staff but also their family members is needed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hospital Staff Shortage after the 2011 Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan-An Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Case of the Soso District

et al. 2016

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IntroductionIn 2011, Fukushima was struck by a triple disaster: an earthquake, tsunamis, and a nuclear accident. In the aftermath, there was much fear among hospital staff members about radiation exposure and many staff members failed to report to work.ObjectivesOne objective is to measure this shortage in hospital staff and another is to compare the difference in recovery by hospital types and by categories of hospital staff.DesignThe monthly records of the number of staff members from May 2011 to September 2012 were extracted anonymously from the records of 7 local hospitals in the Soso district in Fukushima. Change in the number of staff was analyzed.ResultsStaff shortages at hospitals reached a maximum within one month after the disaster (47% reported to work). The shortage of clerks was the most severe (38% reported to work), followed by nurses (48% reported to work). The shortages remained even 18 months after the disaster.ConclusionAfter a disaster in which the damage to hospital functions surpasses the structural damage, massive support of human resources in the acute phase and a smaller volume of support in the mid-term phase appear to be required, particularly for non-medical staff.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hospital Staff Shortage after the 2011 Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan-An Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Case of the Soso District

et al. 2016

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“…Unfortunately, the evacuation resulted in increased mortalities among nursing home residents, as was recently revealed by our retrospective cohort survival survey [ 10 ]. This high mortality rate is attributable to multiple factors, and especially to the burden of the evacuation itself, changes in medical staff, and a lack of preparedness at the evacuation sites [ 11 , 12 ]. Unlike any increased radiation risk, the increased mortality rate due to evacuation might have been alleviated if the evacuation had been done slowly and deliberately after the nursing homes at the evacuation sites had prepared to care for their residents accordingly.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Was the Risk from Nursing-Home Evacuation after the Fukushima Accident Higher than the Radiation Risk?

et al. 2015

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After the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, nursing-home residents and staff were evacuated voluntarily from damaged areas to avoid radiation exposure. Unfortunately, the evacuation resulted in increased mortalities among nursing home residents. We assessed the risk trade-off between evacuation and radiation for 191 residents and 184 staff at three nursing homes by using the same detriment indicator, namely loss of life expectancy (LLE), under four scenarios, i.e. “rapid evacuation (in accordance with the actual situation; i.e. evacuation on 22 March),” “deliberate evacuation (i.e. evacuation on 20 June),” “20-mSv exposure,” and “100-mSv exposure.” The LLE from evacuation-related mortality among nursing home residents was assessed with survival probability data from nursing homes in the city of Minamisoma and the city of Soma. The LLE from radiation mortality was calculated from the estimated age-specific mortality rates from leukemia and all solid cancers based on the additional effective doses and the survival probabilities. The total LLE of residents due to evacuation-related risks in rapid evacuation was 11,000 persons-d—much higher than the total LLEs of residents and staff due to radiation in the other scenarios (27, 1100, and 5800 persons-d for deliberate evacuation, 20 mSv-exposure, and 100 mSv-exposure, respectively). The latitude for reducing evacuation risks among nursing home residents is surprisingly large. Evacuation regulation and planning should therefore be well balanced with the trade-offs against radiation risks. This is the first quantitative assessment of the risk trade-off between radiation exposure and evacuation after a nuclear power plant accident.

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“…This cost is eventually transferred to society, through an insurance company or the government, depending on the health care system. Hiring an additional radiologist, at a median salary of $382,129 [2], would likely expedite imaging interpretation (high-end product), reduce ED length of stay, and foster activities aligned with the ACR Imaging 3.0Ô initiative [3], such as pre-examination consultation between the radiologist and the referring physician.…”

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confidence: 99%

Radiology After the Fukushima Disaster: A Case Report Of Soma General Hospital

Fukunaga

Owada

2015

Journal of the American College of Radiology

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Impact of Natural Disaster Combined with Nuclear Power Plant Accidents on Local Medical Services: a Case Study of Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract: After the disaster, hospitals located within the evacuation zone of a 30-km radius of the nuclear power plant were isolated. Maintenance of the health care system in such an event becomes difficult.

Cited by 78 publications

References 11 publications

Hospital Staff Shortage after the 2011 Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan-An Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Case of the Soso District

Hospital Staff Shortage after the 2011 Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan-An Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Case of the Soso District

Was the Risk from Nursing-Home Evacuation after the Fukushima Accident Higher than the Radiation Risk?

Radiology After the Fukushima Disaster: A Case Report Of Soma General Hospital

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