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Associations Between Social Support and Subjective Symptoms in Disaster-Stricken Ishinomaki, Japan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2020

Akie Midorikawa-Inomata ,
Mariko Inoue ,
Aya Ishiguro ,
Shoko Matsumoto ,
Kazue Yamaoka  and
Eiji Yano
Akie Midorikawa-Inomata
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Hospital Administration, Tokyo, Japan
Mariko Inoue*
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
Aya Ishiguro
Affiliation:
Department of Hygiene and Public Health, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
Shoko Matsumoto
Affiliation:
AIDS Clinical Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Kazue Yamaoka
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
Eiji Yano
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Mariko Inoue, Graduate School of Public Health, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan; (e-mail: [email protected])
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Abstract

Objectives:

Natural disasters affect long-term health by directly disrupting or destroying health-care systems and social support. We examined the associations between social support and subjective symptoms (SS) among disaster victims living in their homes approximately 1–2 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, which devastated the northeastern Japan seaboard and far inland, focusing on Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

Methods:

The Health and Life Revival Council of Ishinomaki District conducted door-to-door household surveys between April 2012 and January 2013. Replies to 12 questions regarding social support, specifically emotional, informational, and instrumental, were investigated. SS prevalence was calculated as the proportion of those having any of 8 predetermined symptoms including back pain, neck stiffness, sleep difficulty, dizziness, heart palpitations, poor appetite, or stomachache. Logistic regression analysis by sex was used to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios for the association between SS prevalence and forms of social support.

Results:

From 4023 households, self-reported data on 2593 individuals from 1709 households were obtained. SS prevalence was 29.1%. Adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that instrumental support with others and emotional support with personal and others were specific associated with SS in men and women, respectively.

Conclusions:

Our findings suggest that providing social support depending on needs is potentially effective in preventing SS in disaster areas.

Keywords

disasterGreat East Japan Earthquake and Tsunamisocial supportsubjective symptoms
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 70 - 77
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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