Excess mortality among relocated institutionalized elderly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Yasumura, Seiji; Goto, Aya; Yamazaki, Sachiko; Reich, Michael R.

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2012.10.019

Cited by 66 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The Japanese government decided that all residents within a 20 km radius of the NPP needed to evacuate from their houses just after the accident in order to minimize radiation effect on their health. Within a 20 km radius of the NPP, there were 7 hospitals and 34 institutions for the elderly with 1,240 and 1,770 people staying there, respectively 1,2) . They were also forced to move to other places regardless of their own will.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To my knowledge, there are no reports from Japan on long -term mortality change among elderly residents following transfer to other places in response to disasters. We investigated excess mortality among relocated institutionalized elderly and found that it persisted for 8 months postdisaster 2) . The purpose of this report is to explore whether excess mortality still continued or not after 1 year of evacuation among institutionalized elderly in Fukushima.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evacuation Effect on Excess Mortality Among Institutionalized Elderly After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Yasumura

2014

FJMS

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: The Great East Japan Earthquake hit Fukushima Prefecture on March 11, 2011, just over 3 years ago and it continues to affect our lives. In Fukushima, many people are confirmed dead or still missing due to the earthquake and/or tsunami. Additional "disaster -related deaths" have been attributed to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident. Mortality among the institutionalized elderly rates after the NPP accident were exceptionally high during the first 3 months, and persisted at a lower level for 9 months, in comparison with similar periods before the accident. This study demonstrates the great impact of evacuation on mortality of institutionalized elderly, excluding inpatients. We need to pay special attention to evacuation of the elderly, regardless of whether voluntary or forced.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evacuation Effect on Excess Mortality Among Institutionalized Elderly After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Yasumura

2014

FJMS

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“…The majority of participants in this study were forced to evacuate, and therefore experienced a drastic lifestyle change due to the NPP incident or massive earthquake. In fact, one previous study reported that there was high excess mortality among institutionalized older people who were relocated after the disaster in this area (Yasumura, Goto, Yamazaki, & Reich, 2013). Other explanations for the higher scores include that, compared with the young and middle-aged groups, the older group had a lower education level (Heir et al, 2011) and poorer self-rated health (Breslau, 2001b), and had experienced much greater frequencies of disaster-related traumatic events (Bromet & Havenaar, 2007;Heir et al, 2011;Tural et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2011), all of which are risk factors for PTSD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist in Community Dwellers Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Incident

et al. 2016

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We investigated the psychometric properties of the Japanese version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Stressor Specific Version (PCL-S) using baseline data from the Fukushima Health Management Survey. A total of 26,332 men and 33,516 women aged 16 and above participated in this study. Participants lived in the Fukushima evacuation zone in Japan and experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant (NPP) incident. The PCL-S was used to assess participants’ posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. In addition, we described participants and tested the validity of the PCL-S by administering the Kessler Six-item Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6) and assessing education; employment; self-rated health; sleep satisfaction; experiencing the earthquake, tsunami, and NPP incident; and bereavement as a result of the disaster. PCL-S scores exhibited a positively skewed, slightly leptokurtic distribution. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the five-factor model was a better fit than were the three- or four-factor models. The PCL-S and its subscales had high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. The PCL-S scores had weak-to-moderate correlations with history of mental illness, bereavement, experiencing the tsunami, experiencing the NPP incident, self-rated health, and sleep satisfaction, as well as a strong correlation with psychological distress. There were significant gender and age differences in PCL-S scores. Overall, this study confirmed the psychometric properties of the PCL-S, including the score distribution, factor structure, reliability, validity, and gender and age differences. Thus, the Japanese version of the PCL-S would be a useful instrument for assessing the PTSD symptoms of community dwellers who have experienced traumatic events.

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“…Furthermore, evacuating elderly patients to a different health care facility has been associated with an increase in mortality. 18 Moore Regional Hospital, the community hospital servicing Pinelake Health and Rehab facility, housed a total of 350 beds at the time of the incident and could have…”

Section: Evacuation and Relocationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Special Considerations for Mass Violence Events in Senior Living Facilities: A Case Report on the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center Shooting

Martin

Powell

2017

Disaster med. public health prep.

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a unique case study for examining the specific considerations for mass violence events in senior living facilities. A variety of factors, including reduced sensory perception, reduced mobility, and cognitive decline, may increase the vulnerability of the populations of senior living facilities during mass violence events. Management of response aspects such as evacuation, relocation, and reunification also require special consideration in the context of mass violence at senior living facilities. Better awareness of these vulnerabilities and response considerations can assist facility administrators and emergency managers when preparing for potential mass violence events at senior living facilities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:150-152)

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Excess mortality among relocated institutionalized elderly after the Fukushima nuclear disaster

Cited by 66 publications

References 7 publications

Evacuation Effect on Excess Mortality Among Institutionalized Elderly After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Evacuation Effect on Excess Mortality Among Institutionalized Elderly After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Psychometric Evaluation of the Japanese Version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist in Community Dwellers Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Incident

Special Considerations for Mass Violence Events in Senior Living Facilities: A Case Report on the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center Shooting

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