Abstract
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. The tsunami caused extensive damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in a level 7 nuclear accident. Among those affected by this combined disaster were many pregnant and parturient women. Sixteen months after the earthquake, we conducted a questionnaire survey on anxiety among 259 women who gave birth around the time of the earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the affected areas. Participants reported 12 categories of anxiety, including anxiety over radioactivity. This study aimed to determine anxiety over radioactivity among this specific population and to record measures for future study. Anxiety over radiation was classified into seven subcategories: food safety, outdoor safety, effects on the fetuses of pregnant women, effects on children, radiation exposure, economic problems, and distrust of information disclosed. This study confirmed that concrete types of anxiety over radiation were keenly felt by mothers who had experienced the disaster who were currently raising children. The findings suggest the need to provide accurate information to these mothers, who are otherwise inundated with miscellaneous confusing information.
Highlights
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011 (Yasumura et al, 2012)
The disaster attracted a great deal of attention and caused extensive anxiety over the health risks of low-dose rate and low-dose radiation exposure resulting from radioactivity in residential environments (Ogiso et al, 2012)
Summary
The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011 (Yasumura et al, 2012). Residents of coastal areas had to live with major damage to electric power, water, and city gas supplies as well as lack of access to communication services (e.g., failure of phone lines, mobile phones, and internet connections) and shortages of food, fuel, and other essentials of life (Omama et al, 2011). The tsunami caused extensive damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in a level 7 nuclear accident (Sugiura et al, 2013). The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused environmental contamination by releasing fission products broadly in eastern Japan. The disaster attracted a great deal of attention and caused extensive anxiety over the health risks of low-dose rate and low-dose radiation exposure resulting from radioactivity in residential environments (Ogiso et al, 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
