2019 Volume 45 Issue 2 Pages 95-104
After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, which was triggered by Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11th of 2011, mandatory evacuation was issued on residents in many villages, towns, cities and administrative districts sorrounding the plant. Residents of Okuma-machi were among those who were urged to evacuate, and later were brought to temporary shelters in Aizuwakamatsu. At the time of this study, most evacuees lived with uncertainty due to the ongoing decontamination of radioactive materials in their hometown, and, hence, their indefinite displacement from their homes. In this study, GHQ28 was used to evaluate the mental health conditions of the evacuees from Okuma-machi and residents of the host city, Aizuwakamatsu of Fukushima prefecture. This study was conducted two years and five months after the accident. The main results were as follows. Individuals who scored above threshold of 6 points are considered to be at high risk of mental disorder. 78.4% of the evacuees from Okuma-machi were found be high-risk individuals.
