Open AccessHospital Staff Shortage after the 2011 Triple Disaster in Fukushima, Japan-An Earthquake, Tsunamis, and Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Case of the Soso District
Author(s) -
Sae Ochi,
Masaharu Tsubokura,
Shigeaki Kato,
S. Iwamoto,
Shinichi Ogata,
Tomohiro Morita,
Arinobu Hori,
Tomoyoshi Oikawa,
Antoku Kikuchi,
Z. Watanabe,
Yukio Kanazawa,
Hiromi Kumakawa,
Yoshinobu Kuma,
Tetsuo Kumakura,
Yoshimitsu Inomata,
Masahiro Kami,
Ryuzaburo Shineha,
Yasutoshi Saito
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0164952
Subject(s) - fukushima nuclear accident , nuclear power plant , nuclear disaster , economic shortage , nuclear power , biology , nuclear physics , ecology , physics , linguistics , philosophy , government (linguistics)
In 2011, Fukushima was struck by a triple disaster: an earthquake, tsunamis, and a nuclear accident. In the aftermath, there was much fear among hospital staff members about radiation exposure and many staff members failed to report to work. Objectives One objective is to measure this shortage in hospital staff and another is to compare the difference in recovery by hospital types and by categories of hospital staff. Design The monthly records of the number of staff members from May 2011 to September 2012 were extracted anonymously from the records of 7 local hospitals in the Soso district in Fukushima. Change in the number of staff was analyzed. Results Staff shortages at hospitals reached a maximum within one month after the disaster (47% reported to work). The shortage of clerks was the most severe (38% reported to work), followed by nurses (48% reported to work). The shortages remained even 18 months after the disaster. Conclusion After a disaster in which the damage to hospital functions surpasses the structural damage, massive support of human resources in the acute phase and a smaller volume of support in the mid-term phase appear to be required, particularly for non-medical staff.