PROPOSAL AND PRACTICE OF ^|^lsquo;COMMUNITY-CARE TEMPORARY-HOUSING^|^rsquo;

Social Support Improves Mental Health among the Victims Relocated to Temporary Housing following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

“…The former method is more straightforward for local governments from an operational perspective, but has the drawback of disrupting social ties within communities. In contrast, the latter approach preserves community ties (Tomiyasu et al 2013), but involves longer delays to ensure that housing can be provided for everyone; furthermore, group allocation requires a considerably greater effort on the part of local governments. To our knowledge, no study has examined the effect of these two resettlement methods on the social support and mental health of survivors.…”

“…However, because these recovery plans will take several years to complete, victims are forced to live in temporary houses for an extended period. Being forced into temporary housing following a disaster has been documented as an important factor that determines how survivors recover (Yzermans et al 2005;Neria et al 2008;Uscher-Pines 2009;Tomiyasu et al 2013;Tanimura et al 2014).…”

“…Recent studies have highlighted the importance of social ties in disaster recovery (Nakagawa and Shaw 2004;Aldrich 2010;Tomiyasu et al 2013;Xin et al 2013;Tanimura et al 2014). Aldrich (2011Aldrich ( , 2012 showed that communities rich in social capital recovered more quickly after disasters.…”

Practical Report on Long-term Disaster Mental Health Services Following the Great East Japan Earthquake: Psychological and Social Background of Evacuees in Sendai City in the Mid- to Long-term Post-disaster Period

“…Social ties were shown to improve mental distress and resolve social issues of evacuees during the mid-to long-term phase. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of social ties in disaster recovery [21][22][23][24] and have shown that "communities rich in social capital recovered more quickly after disasters." 25 In the present study, relocation to prefabricated temporary housing and high support frequency were associated with improved mental distress and resolved social issues among evacuees.…”

“…Relocation to prefabricated temporary housing may result in better outcomes than relocation to privately rented housing, as it could help sustain social ties. Since social ties could affect mental status, 22 establishment of social networks and community-based care are essential after devastating disasters. Our analysis highlights the importance of sustaining a high frequency of support for evacuees, or decreasing contact failures, in order to build mutual trust between support staff and evacuees.…”