What Occupational Health Needs Arise in Workplaces Following Disasters? A Joint Analysis of Eight Cases of Disaster in Japan

Abstract

The list developed in this study is expected to be effective for anticipating occupational health needs after disasters.

Competencies of occupational health professionals for disaster management based on their own experiences

“…These 29 competencies and three factors supported the findings of previous studies about the competencies required to occupational health professionals 2,[4][5][6] . In other words, decision-making and collecting and sharing information are important elements in responding to needs in the event of a disaster.…”

“…In the event of a disaster, while flexibly responding to ever-changing situations, occupational health professionals are required to work on daily practice from a mediumto long-term perspective while ensuring their own safety and health 5,6) . Occupational health professionals play a role in providing professional support for the independent occupational health activities of business operators and workers.…”

“…With this definition, "job performance to achieve high results," "assessment skills," "management skills," and "communication skills" are deemed common competencies required to occupational health professionals in disaster management 5,6,19) and normal occupational practice [23][24][25][26][27][28] . One the other side, in the event of a disaster, occupational health staff are required 5,6,19) to ensure their own safety, grasp occupational health needs that change over time, and make decisions according to changing situations. These can be said to be different from normal times.…”

“…Several studies have reported that the needs for occupational health in disasters have been verified and the role of occupational health professionals have been required when a disaster occurred 2,5,6) . In the event of a disaster, occupational health professionals are required to flexibly respond to employees' conditions and the occupational health needs, that change over time 5,6) . We are able to learn from experiences with past large-scale disasters the occupational health needs that occur during disasters.…”

Occupational health in disasters: Valuable knowledge gained from experience with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

“…However, it is difficult for individual occupational health professionals to accumulate knowledge: it is unlikely that a single occupational health professional will have experience of many disasters. We have analyzed past disaster response cases in detail and developed a manual to predict what needs will arise in each phase after a disaster and detailed instructions on how to respond to them. Enhancing the effectiveness of such manuals demands the acquisition of new knowledge.…”