Abstract
BackgroundFollowing the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in March 2011, radiation anxiety was high among residents in affected areas. Enhancing radiation-related health literacy is effective in reducing radiation anxiety. This feasibility study aimed to examine a novel intervention program to enhance the self-confidence of kindergarten teachers who deal with radiation-related health concerns from parents in order to determine the feasibility of conducting a future randomized controlled trial.MethodsTeachers and administrative staff of two private kindergartens in Fukushima City and members of Media Doctor Japan (a research group for enhancing the quality of health news reporting in Japan) were recruited for study participation. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in the intervention program, comprised of lectures, group discussions, and presentations. The control group received the same written materials used in the intervention program. The primary outcome of this study was feasibility, assessed via four questions concerning program acceptability and described without quantitative analysis. Secondary outcomes were self-confidence concerning parent consultation (1 question, 4-point Likert scale), radiation-related health knowledge (5 question quiz, 1 point for each correct answer, score: 0–5), and health literacy (assessment developed by Ishilawa, et al., score: 1–5) assessed numerically before and after the intervention. Means and standard deviations of outcomes before and after the intervention and their changes in both groups were reported with groups of participants (kindergartens and the Media Doctor Research Japan) reported separately. No quantitative analyses were performed for secondary outcomes.ResultsFive and six kindergarten workers and seven and seven Media Doctor Japan members participated in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Reported acceptability was generally positive, and only one participant gave a negative response regarding program usefulness. Improved self-confidence was found in kindergarten employee participants. Radiation-related health knowledge was higher after the intervention in both kindergarten teachers and Media Doctor Japan members. The amount of change was higher in the intervention group than in the control group.ConclusionsThe intervention program enhanced self-confidence in kindergarten employees. The feasibility of the intervention program for a larger randomized controlled trial was ascertained. Time to conduct lectures and group discussions should be increased to further enhance health literacy.Trial registrationsUMIN000042527 [University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Center] registered on November 25, 2020.
Highlights
Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in March 2011, radiation anxiety was high among residents in affected areas
Participants were recruited for a face-to-face complex intervention program; program effectiveness to enhance kindergarten teachers’ self-confidence in dealing with radiation-related health concerns from parents with young children was uncertain
Program participants from the target population reported good acceptability of the intervention program. The feasibility of this intervention program was ascertained; subsequent iterations should include a greater number of participants and longer times for lectures and discussions in order to further enhance literacy of participants
Summary
Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in March 2011, radiation anxiety was high among residents in affected areas. No radiation exposure-related health effects occurred in local residents [1, 2], residents in Fukushima Prefecture experienced extensive lifestyle changes that seemed to have a greater impact than the radiation disaster itself. The GEJE resulted in physical health problems indirectly associated with radiation exposure, and psychological and social effects [6]. The GEJE and Fukushima disaster created anxiety regarding the physical risks of radiation exposure in the local population [7]. Following the GEJE nuclear accident, the proportion of positive screens of depressive symptoms in mothers with infants in Fukushima Prefecture was higher than that reported using the same measure in other regions of Japan [9]. Mothers of young children may fear similar outcomes for their children
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