Abstract
At 22:08 on November 22, 2014, the Kamishiro Fault Earthquake occurred, with the epicenter in Hakuba-mura, Kita-azumi-gun, Nagano Prefecture (magnitude: 6.7, maximum seismic intensity: lower 6). The earthquake was a local disaster with no fatalities. The epicenter was located in the area covered by the North Alps Medical Center, a general hospital with a department of psychiatry. The center conducted activities as established by the Disaster Psychiatric Assistance Team (DPAT) on commission from the Nagano Prefectural Government. Five days after the earthquake, on November 27, the first psychiatric medical team was organized. Team members were 3 physicians, 3 nurses, 1 clinical psychotherapist, 1 psychiatric social worker, and 1 clerk and they were dispatched to safe shelters in Hakuba-mura and Otarimura, areas where collapses houses and other damage was significant. The team conducted its activities in cooperation with the local administrative agencies and health nurses; team support was provided 7 times from November 27, 2014 to January 29, 2015 and disaster mental health counseling was provided 5 times from March 19 to July 16, 2015. Team members were dispatched to locations such as shelters, damaged housing units, temporary housing, and administrative offices, providing support to 69 persons for a total of 88 times. The team provided continuous psychiatric care to victims with suspected sleeplessness, acute stress disorder, and other conditions. Although many victims had mild symptoms, acute stress disorder was confirmed. Here, we report the activities of the team that provided mental care continuously for about 1 year from the early period after the disaster and in cooperation with local communities.
