Disaster prevention procedures for mothers with infants who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

 The purpose of this study is to clarify the disaster prevention procedures for mothers with infants who experienced the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The study included semi-structured interviews with 24 mothers. We found that mothers prepared for the disaster through “disaster mitigation methods”, “environmental adjustment”, “training and education”, and “predictions of future disasters”. The mothers learned about evacuation procedures at home, emergency procedures when in danger, collection of information on disasters, keeping children safe, protecting the family, and avoiding mental confusion. The results suggest that these disaster prevention procedures would be useful for mothers with children during massive disasters in the future.