We aimed to investigate the relationships between use of media to obtain information on radiation and radiation anxiety among community residents in Fukushima, 5.5 years after the nuclear power plant accident.

A questionnaire survey was administered between August and October 2016 to 2000 randomly sampled residents in Fukushima prefecture. Radiation anxiety toward health and regarding discrimination and prejudice were assessed with 4- and 3-item scales, respectively. Participants nominated their most-used media for acquiring information on radiation by choosing up to 3 sources from 12 information sources listed (eg, local newspaper, TV news, websites, social networking sites [SNS], local government newsletter, word of mouth). We investigated associations of most-used media types and radiation anxiety, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and anxiety regarding radiation’s health effects immediately after the accident, using multivariate linear regression analyses.

Valid responses were obtained from 790 (39.5%) residents. Acquiring information about radiation by word of mouth was related to higher radiation anxiety toward health. Regarding radiation anxiety concerning discrimination and prejudice, SNS use was related to higher anxiety, whereas acquiring information through Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) TV news was related to lower anxiety.

Interpersonal interactions rather than gaining information from media – characterized by unidirectional information exchange – may increase radiation anxiety.

To explore whether stressors after a disaster have later effects on the mental health of public servants who engage in disaster response and to estimate the proportion of those experiencing persistent mental distress.

We analyzed the data of health surveys conducted in Miyagi Prefecture for all prefectural public servants at 2, 7, and 16 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake (n=3174). We investigated relationships between mental distress (defined as K6≥10) at 16 months after the earthquake and earthquake damage and working conditions at 2 months. We also calculated the proportion of participants who scored K6≥10 on all 3 surveys.

The experience of living someplace other than one’s own home was significantly related with mental distress at 16 months after the earthquake. Few participants consistently scored K6≥10 throughout all 3 surveys.

The effects of stressors in the aftermath of a disaster could remain for a long time. Few public servants experienced persistent mental distress. Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:622–630

We intended to build consensus on appropriate disaster mental health services among professionals working in the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

We focused on the first 3 months after the disaster, divided into 3 phases: immediate aftermath, acute phase, and midphase. We adopted the Delphi process and asked our survey participants (n=115) to rate the appropriateness of specific mental health services in each phase and comment on them. We repeated this process 3 times, giving participants feedback on the results of the previous round. Through this process, we determined the criterion for positive consensus for each item as having the agreement of more than 80% of the participants.

We found that the importance of acute psychiatric care and prescribing regular medication for psychiatric patients gained positive consensus in the immediate aftermath and acute phase. Counseling and psychoeducation after traumatic events or provision of information gained consensus in the acute phase and midphase, and screening of mental distress gained consensus in the midphase.

Higher priority was given to continuous psychiatric services in the immediate aftermath and mental health activities in later phases. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:359–366)