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Systematic Consensus Building on Disaster Mental Health Services After the Great East Japan Earthquake by Phase

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2015

Maiko Fukasawa ,
Yuriko Suzuki ,
Satomi Nakajima ,
Keiko Asano ,
Tomomi Narisawa  and
Yoshiharu Kim
Maiko Fukasawa*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Yuriko Suzuki
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Satomi Nakajima
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
Keiko Asano
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry Graduate School of Musashino University
Tomomi Narisawa
Affiliation:
Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Yoshiharu Kim
Affiliation:
National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Maiko Fukasawa, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan (e-mail: s05fukasawa@ncnp.go.jp).
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Abstract

Objective

We intended to build consensus on appropriate disaster mental health services among professionals working in the area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Methods

We focused on the first 3 months after the disaster, divided into 3 phases: immediate aftermath, acute phase, and midphase. We adopted the Delphi process and asked our survey participants (n=115) to rate the appropriateness of specific mental health services in each phase and comment on them. We repeated this process 3 times, giving participants feedback on the results of the previous round. Through this process, we determined the criterion for positive consensus for each item as having the agreement of more than 80% of the participants.

Results

We found that the importance of acute psychiatric care and prescribing regular medication for psychiatric patients gained positive consensus in the immediate aftermath and acute phase. Counseling and psychoeducation after traumatic events or provision of information gained consensus in the acute phase and midphase, and screening of mental distress gained consensus in the midphase.

Conclusions

Higher priority was given to continuous psychiatric services in the immediate aftermath and mental health activities in later phases. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:359–366)

Keywords

disastermental health servicesacute period
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 359 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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