Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness in Japan: A Survey of Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals

Takashi Nagata; Takuro Arishima; Yoshihiro Yamaguchi; Nobuyuki Hirohashi; Toshiro Usa; Arifumi Hasegawa; Hiroyuki Hanada; Naoyuki Yamamoto; Tadashi Okamoto; Tomohiko Akahoshi; Masahiko Hamada; Takeru Abe; Makoto Kikukawa; Hiroyuki Nakao; Hitoshi Yamamura; Tetsuya Sakamoto; Makoto Akashi; Akihito Hagihara

doi:10.1017/dmp.2021.348

Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness in Japan: A Survey of Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals

Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022 Feb 7:17:e78. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2021.348.

Authors

Takashi Nagata¹, Takuro Arishima², Yoshihiro Yamaguchi³, Nobuyuki Hirohashi⁴, Toshiro Usa⁵, Arifumi Hasegawa⁶, Hiroyuki Hanada⁷, Naoyuki Yamamoto⁸, Tadashi Okamoto⁹, Tomohiko Akahoshi¹, Masahiko Hamada¹⁰, Takeru Abe¹¹, Makoto Kikukawa¹², Hiroyuki Nakao¹³, Hitoshi Yamamura¹⁴, Tetsuya Sakamoto¹⁵, Makoto Akashi¹⁶, Akihito Hagihara¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences School of Medicine, Department of Advanced Medical Initiatives, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
² Department of Emergency and General Internal Medicine, Fujita Health University, Toyooka, Japan.
³ Department of Trauma and Critical Care Medicine, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
⁵ International Hibakusha Medical Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan.
⁶ Department of Radiation Disaster Medicine, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
⁷ Department of Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan.
⁸ Nuclear Safety Research Association, Tokyo, Japan.
⁹ Ginza Partners Law Office, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁰ Shigematsu Works Co Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
¹¹ Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Yokohama, Japan.
¹² Department of Medical Education, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
¹³ Department of Disaster Medicine and Management, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
¹⁴ Osaka Nakawakachi Emergency and Critical Care Center, Osaka, Japan.
¹⁵ Teikyo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁶ Tachikawa Faculty of Nursing, Tokyo Healthcare University, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁷ Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Suita, Japan.

PMID: 35129102
DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2021.348

Abstract

Objective: Based on experiences following the Great East Japan Earthquake and nuclear power plant accident in 2011, Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals (NECHs) were designated as centers for radiation disaster management in Japan. This study aimed to investigate their current status and identify areas for improvement.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2018. Demographic data were collected by a questionnaire with free text responses about attitudes toward NECHs. Considerations regarding risk communications during a radiation disaster were analyzed using qualitative text mining analysis.

Results: A total of 36 hospitals participated in this study. Only 31% of NECHs anticipated a radiation disaster. The importance of business continuity plans and risk communications was shown. Text analysis identified 7 important categories for health care workers during a radiation disaster, including media response, communications to hospital staff, risk communications, radiation effects on children, planning for a radiation disaster in the region, rumors, and the role in the region.

Conclusion: The radiation disaster medical system and NECHs in Japan were surveyed. The importance of risk communications, planning for a radiation disaster in each region, and the role in the region are identified as issues that need to be addressed.

Keywords: Communication; Emergency Preparedness; Fukushima Nuclear Accident; Hospital Bed Capacity.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disaster Planning*
Fukushima Nuclear Accident*
Hospitals
Humans
Japan
Nuclear Power Plants
Surveys and Questionnaires