2017 Volume 4 Issue 1 Pages 74-79
This paper addresses and illustrates shortfalls in information sharing and responses for public health issues in shelters and the affected areas after the Kumamoto Earthquake of April 16, 2016. Drawn from situation reports published by the Japanese Cabinet Office and major newspaper companies, analysis of these various reports within 1 month of this natural disaster revealed chaotic situations in evacuation centers. Despite the availability of consultations regarding health problems and living conditions provided by various organizations, health assessment and public health surveillance were slow and unsystematic, especially in their application to vulnerable groups that required population study and high-risk approaches for health. Furthermore, overall health response management tended to overlook the problems that existed outside of shelters. What is needed is more efficient information-sharing methods and a system that enables reasonably rapid responses to health problems and population care during the acute phase and issues requiring long-term care.
