2017 Volume 5 Issue 1 Pages 47-55
The present study aimed to investigate perceptions of the health conditions and radiation among elderly people who were evacuated approximately four years after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. The subjects were 86 elderly people who were evacuated from their hometown in Fukushima Prefecture. They were asked to complete a questionnaire on their health conditions, activity, and anxiety caused by radiation. The results showed that 49 people were anxious about their health conditions and felt themselves-frail. Some of them had decreased the frequency of going out because of their frailty. In addition, some felt depressed and lonely living away from their friends as an evacuee for a long time. In total, 21 people were anxious about the radiation, and they were worried that the radiation would affect their children, grandchildren, and food. The findings suggest that the anxiousness of their health condition caused by the evacuation resulted in people decreasing their activity or becoming frail and that it was also related to living in unfamiliar places for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to provide elderly evacuees the opportunity of physical activity and exercise keeping in mind their stress management.
