Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T00:45:55.326Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relationship Between Use of Media and Radiation Anxiety Among the Residents of Fukushima 5.5 Years After the Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2019

Maiko Fukasawa ,
Norito Kawakami ,
Chihiro Nakayama  and
Seiji Yasumura
Maiko Fukasawa*
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Norito Kawakami
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Chihiro Nakayama
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan
Seiji Yasumura
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Maiko Fukasawa, Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan (e-mail: fukasawa@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

We aimed to investigate the relationships between use of media to obtain information on radiation and radiation anxiety among community residents in Fukushima, 5.5 years after the nuclear power plant accident.

Methods:

A questionnaire survey was administered between August and October 2016 to 2000 randomly sampled residents in Fukushima prefecture. Radiation anxiety toward health and regarding discrimination and prejudice were assessed with 4- and 3-item scales, respectively. Participants nominated their most-used media for acquiring information on radiation by choosing up to 3 sources from 12 information sources listed (eg, local newspaper, TV news, websites, social networking sites [SNS], local government newsletter, word of mouth). We investigated associations of most-used media types and radiation anxiety, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and anxiety regarding radiation’s health effects immediately after the accident, using multivariate linear regression analyses.

Results:

Valid responses were obtained from 790 (39.5%) residents. Acquiring information about radiation by word of mouth was related to higher radiation anxiety toward health. Regarding radiation anxiety concerning discrimination and prejudice, SNS use was related to higher anxiety, whereas acquiring information through Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) TV news was related to lower anxiety.

Conclusions:

Interpersonal interactions rather than gaining information from media – characterized by unidirectional information exchange – may increase radiation anxiety.

Keywords

Fukushimamedianuclear power plant accidentradiation anxiety
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 42 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bromet, EJ, Havenaar, JM, Guey, LT. A 25-year retrospective review of the psychological consequences of the Chernobyl accident. Clin Oncol. (R Coll Radiol.) 2011;23:297-305. doi: 10.1016/j.clon.2011.01.501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bromet, EJ. Emotional consequences of nuclear power plant disasters. Health Phys. 2014;106:206-210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dew, MA, Bromet, EJ. Predictors of temporal patterns of psychiatric distress during 10 years following the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 1993;28:49-55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldsteen, R, Schorr, JK, Goldsteen, KS. Longitudinal study of appraisal at Three Mile Island: implications for life event research. Soc Sci Med. 1989;28:389-398.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adams, RE, Guey, LT, Gluzman, SF, et al. Psychological well-being and risk perceptions of mothers in Kyiv, Ukraine, 19 years after the Chernobyl disaster. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2011;57:637-645. doi: 10.1177/0020764011415204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromet, EJ, Gluzman, S, Schwartz, JE, et al. Somatic symptoms in women 11 years after the Chernobyl accident: prevalence and risk factors. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110:625-629. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110s4625.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bromet, EJ, Litcher-Kelly, L. Psychological responses of mothers of young children to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear plant accidents one decade later. In: Havenaar, JM, Cwikel, JG, Bromet, EJ, eds. Toxic Turmoil: Psychological and Societal Consequences of Ecological Disasters. New York: Springer Science+Business Media; 2002:69-84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukasawa, M, Kawakami, N, Umeda, M, et al. Environmental radiation level, radiation anxiety, and psychological distress of non-evacuee residents in Fukushima five years after the Great East Japan Earthquake: multilevel analyses. SSM Popul Health. 2017;3:740-748. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2017.09.002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miura, I, Nagai, M, Maeda, M, et al. Perception of radiation risk as a predictor of mid-term mental health after a nuclear disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14:E1067. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14091067.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Niitsu, T, Takaoka, K, Uemura, S, et al. The psychological impact of a dual-disaster caused by earthquakes and radioactive contamination in Ichinoseki after the Great East Japan Earthquake. BMC Res Notes. 2014;7:307. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-7-307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oe, M, Maeda, M, Nagai, M, et al. Predictors of severe psychological distress trajectory after nuclear disaster: evidence from the Fukushima Health Management Survey. BMJ Open. 2016;6:e013400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oe, M, Takahashi, H, Maeda, M, et al. Changes of posttraumatic stress responses in evacuated residents and their related factors: a 3-year follow-up study from the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2017;29:182S-192S. doi: 10.1177/1010539516680733.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzuki, Y, Yabe, H, Yasumura, S, et al. Psychological distress and the perception of radiation risks: the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Bull World Health Organ. 2015;93:598-605.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suzuki, Y, Takebayashi, Y, Yasumura, S, et al. Changes in risk perception of the health effects of radiation and mental health status: the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15:E1219. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15061219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murakami, M, Nakatani, J, Oki, T. Evaluation of risk perception and risk-comparison information regarding dietary radionuclides after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. PLoS One. 2016;11:e0165594. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nakayama, C, Sato, O, Sugita, M, et al. Lingering health-related anxiety about radiation among Fukushima residents as correlated with media information following the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. PLoS One. 2019;14:e0217285. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shirai, K, Yoshizawa, N, Takebayashi, Y, et al. Modeling reconstruction-related behavior and evaluation of influences of major information sources. PLoS One. 2019;23:e0221561. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221561.Google Scholar
Sugimoto, A, Nomura, S, Tsubokura, M, et al. The relationship between media consumption and health-related anxieties after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. PLoS One. 2013;8:e65331. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065331.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yumiya, Y, Murakami, M, Takebayashi, Y, et al. Unreliable information as a risk factor for worse mental fatigue among residents in Fukushima after the nuclear power station accident. Tohoku J Exp Med. 2019;248:261-272. doi: 10.1620/tjem.248.261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maeda, M, Oe, M. Mental health consequences and social issues after the Fukushima disaster. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2017;29:36S-46S. doi: 10.1177/1010539516689695.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohto, H, Yasumura, S, Maeda, M, et al. From devastation to recovery and revival in the aftermath of Fukushima’s nuclear power plant’s accident. Asia Pac J Public Health. 2017;29:10S-17S. doi: 10.1177/1010539516675700.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sawano, T, Nishikawa, Y, Ozaki, A, et al. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident and school bullying of affected children and adolescents: the need for continuous radiation education. J Radiat Res. 2018;59:381-384. doi: 10.1093/jrr/rry025.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuroda, Y, Iwasa, H, Orui, M, et al. Association between health literacy and radiation anxiety among residents after a nuclear accident: comparison between evacuated and non-evacuated areas. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15:E1463. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Umeda, M, Sekiya, Y, Kawakami, N, et al. Reliability and validity of radiation anxiety scale developed for Fukushima community residents. The 24th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japan Epidemiological Association, Sendai, Japan, 2014. [In Japanese]Google Scholar
Kawakami, N. Investigation of current condition of and development of effective interventions for anxiety over radiation effect on health in the Fukushima Prefecture. In: Report on the research project on the health effects of radiation organized by Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Published March, 2013: 175–194. [In Japanese] https://www.env.go.jp/chemi/rhm/reports.html. Accessed November 15, 2019.Google Scholar
Brenkert-Smith, H, Dickinson, KL, Champ, PA, et al. Social amplification of wildfire risk: the role of social interactions and information sources. Risk Anal. 2013;33:800-817. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01917.x.Google ScholarPubMed
Binder, AR, Scheufele, DA, Brossard, D, et al. Interpersonal amplification of risk? Citizen discussions and their impact on perceptions of risks and benefits of a biological research facility. Risk Anal. 2011;31:324-334. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01516.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, R, Palgi, Y, Hamama-Raz, Y, et al. In the eye of the storm or the bullseye of the media: social media use during Hurricane Sandy as a predictor of post-traumatic stress. J Psychiatr Res. 2013;47:1099-1100. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.04.006.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohmori, M. Looking back on media reports on the nuclear accident. Ann ICRP. 2016;45(2 Suppl):33-36. doi: 10.1177/0146645316666757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pfefferbaum, B, Newman, E, Nelson, SD, et al. Disaster media coverage and psychological outcomes: descriptive findings in the extant research. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014;16:464. doi: 10.1007/s11920-014-0464-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed