TITLE:
Stress Coping and Issues among Evacuees Four Years after the Nuclear Disaster in Fukushima: An Interview Study
AUTHORS:
Toshiko Tomisawa, Yuki Kimura, Maiko Kitajima, Kasumi Mikami
KEYWORDS:
Stress Coping, Nuclear Disaster, Earthquake, Evacuation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Nursing,
Vol.8 No.3,
March
28,
2018
ABSTRACT:
Purpose: The purpose of the present
study was to clarify issues related to the evacuation process, including stress
coping, psychological conditions, and health problems, through interviews with
long-term evacuees 4 years after the Great East Japan earthquake and nuclear
disaster. Methods: Group interviews focusing on stress and health conditions were conducted
with eight older adults at a meeting space in Y city in Fukushima Prefecture,
Japan, in May 2015. Two months later, based on the results of the first group interview,
four (two men, two women, age range, 60 - 70 years) of those eight individuals participated in 60-min individual
semi-structured interviews and were assessed according to the Tri-axial Coping
Scale revised for the elderly. The interviewees were asked about their anxiety
and hardships, escape routes, and other points of importance. Results: Stress coping scores were higher for males than for females, especially
that for “Catharsis”. The “Giving up” score was higher among
these participants than the general population. In the interviews, the
participants described how evacuees from “Q” area were experiencing high levels of stress because of problems
communicating with their neighborhoods and receiving compensation from the
government and Tokyo Electric Power Company. Conclusion: Evacuees experienced hardships immediately after the earthquake,
including issues related to compensation from the government and communication
with their neighborhoods. Men showed higher scores for “Avoidance-like thinking” and “Giving up” than for other factors
related to stress coping, suggesting that they might not use “Catharsis” as a means of coping with
stress. The results also suggested that men experienced repeatedly that alone,
they made little headway or could not do something. The present study suggests the importance of providing support to
long-term evacuees so that original residents can better understand their
situation.