Outpatient rehabilitation for an older couple in a repopulated village 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster:An embedded case study

Yuta Saito; Sora Sato; Yoshitaka Nishikawa; Fumiya Oguro; Nobuaki Moriyama; Keiichiro Sato; Yurie Kobashi; Toyoaki Sawano; Akihiko Ozaki; Takeo Nakayama; Masaharu Tsubokura; Seiji Yasumura; Shohei Sakai

doi:10.5387/fms.2023-01

Case report

Outpatient rehabilitation for an older couple in a repopulated village 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster:An embedded case study

Yuta Saito, Sora Sato, Yoshitaka Nishikawa, Fumiya Oguro, Nobuaki Moriyama, Keiichiro Sato, Yurie Kobashi, Toyoaki Sawano, Akihiko Ozaki, Takeo Nakayama, Masaharu Tsubokura, Seiji Yasumura, Shohei Sakai

Author information

Yuta Saito
Department of Rehabilitation, Hirata Central Hospital
Sora Sato
Hirata Rehabilitation Care Center
Yoshitaka Nishikawa
Department of Internal Medicine, Hirata Central Hospital
Department of Internal Medicine, Kawauchi Village National Health Insurance Clinic
Department of Health Informatics, Kyoto University School of Public Health
Fumiya Oguro
Department of Internal Medicine, Hirata Central Hospital
Nobuaki Moriyama
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine
Keiichiro Sato
Seireikai Home Nursing Station Hirata
Yurie Kobashi
Department of Internal Medicine, Hirata Central Hospital
Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine
Toyoaki Sawano
Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine
Department of Surgery, Jyoban Hospital of Tokiwa Foundation
Akihiko Ozaki
Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Jyoban Hospital of Tokiwa Foundation
Takeo Nakayama
Department of Health Informatics, Kyoto University School of Public Health
Masaharu Tsubokura
Department of Internal Medicine, Hirata Central Hospital
Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine
Seiji Yasumura
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine
Shohei Sakai
Hirata Rehabilitation Care Center

Keywords: Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, embedded case study, community dwelling, community healthcare, outpatient rehabilitation, older adults

JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS FULL-TEXT HTML

2024 Volume 70 Issue 1 Pages 49-54

DOI https://doi.org/10.5387/fms.2023-01

Browse “Advance online publication” version

Details

Abstract

Background

Little information is available on the role of community-based rehabilitation after a nuclear disaster. Here, we report the case of an older couple living in an area repopulated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 who received outpatient rehabilitation.

Case presentation

An 84-year-old woman underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) after she fell and sustained a trochanteric fracture while caring for her husband with Alzheimer's disease. The 85-year-old husband experienced worsening behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) following his wife's hospitalization. The couple received rehabilitation at an outpatient facility in a nearby village using a shuttle service. The woman’s postoperative anxiety was relieved and her physical function improved. Moreover, the husband's BPSD symptoms decreased.

Conclusion

A wife and husband showed improvement in physical function after THA and alleviation of BPSD, respectively, following rehabilitation. In post-disaster, resource-scarce areas, older adults may benefit from utilizing the outpatient rehabilitation services available in the surrounding area.

Corresponding author

Register with J-STAGE for free!