Abstract
[Purpose] To clarify the changes in physical therapy students’ satisfaction levels with life and learning at the end of their 3rd year, with consideration of their hometowns, in the 3 years following the Great East Japan Earthquake. [Subjects] Subjects were third-year physical therapy students enrolled at the International Welfare University, who cooperated with surveys at the end of the academic years of 2011, the year the earthquake happened, 2012, and 2013, a total of 292 persons. [Methods] Students were asked to mark their satisfaction with life and learning in the 3 years since entering university on a visual analogue scale. The satisfaction levels of students from Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Ibaraki, regions affected by the earthquake, were compared with those of students from other regions. [Results] The only significant difference among the years was satisfaction with learning in the year of the earthquake, which was significantly lower. Satisfaction with life was higher than satisfaction with learning. Differences due to hometown location were not apparent. [Conclusion] It seems that students had recovered from the effects of the earthquake by the following year.
