【Aim】To clarify the relationship between passion for DMAT activities and work environment. 【Methods】We conducted a web survey of DMAT members in Hokkaido. The questionnaires included individual characteristics, the Japanese version of the Passion Scale, and the Japanese version of the TeamSTEPPS subscale of leadership and mutual support. A logistic regression analysis was conducted by classifying the respondents into two groups according to the cutoff value of the standard passion and adjusting for predetermined covariates. 【Results】All 186 respondents were enrolled in the analysis. The results of the multivariate analysis showed that leadership was independently associated with passion for DMAT activities. 【Discussion】Passion for DMAT activities was associated with high levels of leadership, suggesting the importance of the work environment support for DMAT activities.

【Background】 There are many similarities in the disaster prevention plans of the nuclear power station site and neighboring prefectures, and regional characteristics are not taken into consideration. We surveyed the regional characteristics around each nuclear power plant and examined the pros and cons of disaster prevention plans with similar content and ways to improve them. 【Methods】 The 2020 Population Census was used to investigate the population within each PAZ/UPZ by generation. Changes in populations requiring special consideration in the past 20 years in areas surrounding nuclear power stations were also examined. 【Results】 The results showed that population decline and aging were progressing rapidly around many nuclear power stations. The percentage of persons requiring special consideration had increased in all areas. 【Discussion】 In nuclear disasters spanning a wide area, people are more affected by the social impacts, such as long-term evacuation, than by direct physical impacts. Originally, persons requiring special consideration are vulnerable to social exclusion. They might lose contact with and be easily cut off from society in nuclear disasters. This study indicates that the number of persons requiring special consideration may approach half the local population. As self-help and mutual assistance within the community are becoming increasingly difficult, it is necessary when considering nuclear disaster prevention in the future to take measures to include such people at the stage of preparation and to enhance the strength of the local community.

【Purpose】 Japan is a disaster-prone country having experienced the fourth highest annual frequency of earthquakes in the world between 1980 and 2000 according to the United Nations Development Programme. We have been studying the effects of earthquakes on health and factors that affect post-traumatic stress disorder; however, only a few longitudinal studies on earthquakes have been carried out. This study aimed to clarify five-year longitudinal changes in the mental health status of workers affected by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. 【Methods】 The subjects were 111 people who experienced the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and responded to three of four surveys (at six months, one, three, and five years after the earthquake). The survey items are basic attributes (gender, age, type of work, damage, et al), health-related QOL (Short-Form Health Survey; SF8), mental health questionnaire (General Health Questionnaire; GHQ28). It consisted of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). 【Results】 There were 104 subjects (84 males and 20 females) who responded at five years after the earthquakes, with a mean age of 49.8 years (SD 13.3). The mental health status of workers at five years after the Kumamoto earthquakes showed deterioration in the GHQ28 total score and subscale for somatic symptoms. At three years after the earthquakes, there was deterioration in depressive tendencies, AIS scores, and the subjective sense of health. 【Conclusion】 The results of the five-year survey study revealed that mental health was particularly affected three years after the earthquake. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is given in the lack of prospects for housing reconstruction, isolation due to changes in the living environment and relationships with neighbors due to moving, and other factors. Screening should be conducted as early as possible after a disaster and a continuous support system should be put in place to provide proactive mental health care by the government and other corporate managers, replacing the need to rely on complaints among individuals.