The present study aimed to clarify the current situation of risk perception and anxiety regarding radiation among nurses working at a Nuclear Emergency Core Hospital in an Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone. We conducted a questionnaire survey on 179 nurses (response rate: 100%). More than 80% of the nurses indicated that they were anxious about radiation because of the proximity of the hospital to a nuclear power plant. More than 50% of the nurses also felt that low-dose exposure was likely to cause delayed effects on their health, and more than 70% were concerned that radiation exposure caused genetic effects. Additionally, more than 70% of the nurses believed that they were likely to be affected when caring for contaminated patients. These findings suggest that to develop the practical skills and confidence of nurses working at Nuclear Emergency Core Hospitals, fundamental knowledge on radiation dose and effects of radiation, as well as appropriate knowledge that can protect both patients and nurses themselves from radiation exposure.

The present study aimed to clarify whether lectures on radiation health effects contribute to the improvement of radiation risk perception and anxiety. And it was conducted a lecture to sophomore nursing students at a university where nuclear power plant is located. In order to confirm whether the lecture contributed to the improvement of radiation risk perception and anxiety, the participants were asked to indicate their risk perception of radiation health effects and anxiety about radiation before and after the lecture, and to write down the reasons for their choice. The results showed a significant improvement in the perception of radiation risk after the lecture compared to before the lecture for both delayed effects (24.3% vs. 94.7%, p<0.001) and hereditary effects on future generations (47.1% vs. 97.3%, p<0.001). The result of radiation anxiety was also same as risk perception (25.7% vs. 4.0%, p<0.001). We found that the lectures on the health effects of radiation contributed to the improvement of radiation risk perception and anxiety. In addition, it is highly likely that the participants were able to make decisions based on scientific evidence after attending the lectures, even if they had judged their risk perception based on the information they had seen and heard before the lectures.