Abstract
BackgroundDisaster-related concerns by sub-populations have not been clarified after the great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant incidents. This paper assesses who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters among the general population in order to buffer such concerns effectively.MethodsThe hypothesis that women, parents, and family caregivers were most concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disaster was tested using a varying-intercept multivariable logistic regression with 5809 responses from a nationwide cross-sectional survey random-sampled in March 2012.ResultsMany people were at least occasionally concerned about radiation (53.5%), food safety (47.3%), and about natural disaster (69.5%). Women were more concerned than men about radiation (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.35–2.06), food safety (1.70; 1.38–2.10), and natural disasters (1.74; 1.39–2.19). Parents and family care needs were not significant. Married couples were more concerned about radiation (1.53; 1.33–1.77), food safety (1.38; 1.20–1.59), and natural disasters (1.30; 1.12–1.52). Age, child-cohabitation, college-completion, retirement status, homemaker status, and the house-damage certificate of the last disaster were also associated with at least one concern. Participants from the Kanto region were more concerned about radiation (2.08; 1.58–2.74) and food safety (1.30; 1.07–1.59), which demonstrate similar positive associations to participants from Tohoku where a disaster relief act was invoked (3.36; 2.25–5.01 about radiation, 1.49; 1.08–2.06 about food safety).ConclusionsSectioning the populations by gender and other demographics will clarify prospective targets for interventions, allow for a better understanding of post-disaster concerns, and help communicate relevant information effectively.
Highlights
The great East Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011, subsequent tsunamis, and the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident had a large impact on the Japanese population [1]
Some people may have felt a lack of direct evidence of safety across Japan [10] [11], especially those who doubted the authenticity of monitoring and evaluation by the government
The aim of the present study was to assess who was more concerned about radiation, food safety, and future natural disasters among the general population of Japan
Summary
The great East Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011, subsequent tsunamis, and the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident had a large impact on the Japanese population [1]. Some doubted the competence of the Japanese government to communicate relevant evidence to the public [4] [10]. These doubts seem to have fueled long-term disaster-related concerns among the general population. Disaster-related concerns by sub-populations have not been clarified after the great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant incidents. This paper assesses who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters among the general population in order to buffer such concerns effectively
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