This study clarifies the stress faced by mothers living in evacuation shelters, their feelings of isolation, the quality of life（QOL）, and anxieties concerning health consequences due to radiation post the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster. A questionnaire was completed by mothers raising children while living in evacuation shelters（Group A）and mothers raising children while not living in evacuation shelters（Group B）. No significant difference was observed between the groups in the husbands’ responses to questions concerning child raising, childcare stress, and concerns about raising children. However, Group A had fewer people to consult besides their husbands compared to Group B. The percentage in Group A that showed the feelings of isolation was higher compared to that in Group B. In addition, QOL general health values of Group A were low. This indicates that these mothers still have anxieties concerning the influence of radiation on pregnancy, water, baby food, and human relations 4 years after the disaster.

The above results reveal that creating a child-raising network for mothers is essential to provide them with knowledge about radiation and hold meetings that encompass health impacts.

The present study aimed to clarify the current status of and issues related to radiation education in a junior high school after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster. The study participants were five junior high school teachers. Data were collected through interviews, and the interview transcripts were analyzed using text mining. Junior high school teachers responded that the negative radiation-related images from the nuclear disaster had faded from the memories of students, and that the knowledge necessary for students to remain vigilant was insufficient. Teachers felt that, depending on the age of the student, showing concrete data was an effective teaching strategy, and that appropriate educational content could be assembled with grade progression. However, teachers lacked the knowledge necessary for education on some topics, particularly the effects of radiation on the human body, and, in consideration of responses from individual parents, hesitated to deliver education involving security or risk judgments. We instructed teachers in small group settings in order to help them acquire sufficient knowledge about radiation and resolve these problems. As a result, an increase was seen in the degree of understanding of the teaching items, and a learning effect was produced. These findings suggest that educating teachers about uncertain radiation-related knowledge allows them to teach with greater confidence.

Objective: In Japan, public health nurses （PHNs） play an important role in managing the health of local residents, especially after a disaster. Here, in order to support the stress processing capacity of PHNs in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant （FDNPP）, we assess the actual state of stress processing capacity and its related factors of PHNs.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey among the PHNs （n＝430） in July of 2015 via postal mail. The questions assessed PHNs’ demographic factors, knowledge about radiation, degree of anxiety about radiation at the time of the FDNPS accident （and at present）, Sense of Coherence-13 （SOC）, and General Health Questionnaire （GHQ）. We classified the low and high scores and compared members of the group who scored less than 44 points and who scored 44 points or more.

Results: Of the 430 PHNs surveyed, 269 （62.6%） were classified in the ＜44 points group, and 161 （37.4%） were in the ≥44 points group. When a multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted, PHNs’ low levels of current general anxieties about radiation and low GHQ-12 scores （＜4 point） were significantly associated with high SOC scores （≥44 points）.

Conclusions: The relationship found between the stress processing capacity and anxieties about radiation and mental health of PHNs in the Fukushima Prefecture four years after the FDNPP accident suggests the need to support radiation anxiety reduction.

After the recent Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, we have initiated an effort to include a radiation class in our undergraduate public health nursing course. This study reports the content of the 180-min radiation class in 2015 for our fourth year undergraduate public health nursing students as well as the students’ reflections on the class. After the class, all 63 students were invited to freely write their reflections on the class and fill in several forced choice questions. With their consent, 58 students’ anonymous responses were returned and thematically analyzed. The students wrote: they realized how ignorant they had been about radiation, understood the nature of radiation, thought about social confusion and appropriate support for affected people after the nuclear accident, and they were motivated to learn more about radiation. In the forced choice part of the questionnaire, more than 97% of the students answered “agree” or “somewhat agree” to all the items about: enjoyment of the lecture, interest in the content, understanding of the topics, and willingness to learn more about radiation. Results suggested that radiation education changed the student’s attitudes towards radiation and improved their preparedness for public health challenges after radiation incidents.

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.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the present state of public health nursing activities and public health nurses’ recognition of radiation in three prefectures where nuclear power plants have been located. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 1,521 public health nurses.

Comparison of public health nursing knowledge of radiation and the training and education on radiation for nursing activities was reviewed by investigation two groups of public health nurses: those who worked in places for public health center nurses or municipal health nurses center and those who worked in places of inner or outer of UPZ（Urgent Protective action planning Zone）.

In each prefecture or each area differences in public health nurses’ knowledge and need for education of radiation were recognized. This result shows that they are related with the nuclear power plant location, and because they it had many opportunities to receive radiation education and nuclear disaster prevention training.

It is necessary for us to receive and provide radiation education depends on regional differences.