@article{ref1,
title="Hospital staff shortage after the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan-an earthquake, tsunamis, and nuclear power plant accident: a case of the Soso District",
journal="PLoS one",
year="2016",
author="Ochi, Sae and Tsubokura, Masaharu and Kato, Shigeaki and Iwamoto, Shuichi and Ogata, Shinichi and Morita, Tomohiro and Hori, Arinobu and Oikawa, Tomoyoshi and Kikuchi, Antoku and Watanabe, Zenjiro and Kanazawa, Yukio and Kumakawa, Hiromi and Kuma, Yoshinobu and Kumakura, Tetsuo and Inomata, Yoshimitsu and Kami, Masahiro and Shineha, Ryuzaburo and Saito, Yasutoshi",
volume="11",
number="10",
pages="e0164952-e0164952",
abstract="INTRODUCTION: In 2011, Fukushima was struck by a triple disaster: an earthquake, tsunamis, and a nuclear accident. In the aftermath, there was much fear among hospital staff members about radiation exposure and many staff members failed to report to work. <br><br>OBJECTIVES: One objective is to measure this shortage in hospital staff and another is to compare the difference in recovery by hospital types and by categories of hospital staff. <br><br>DESIGN: The monthly records of the number of staff members from May 2011 to September 2012 were extracted anonymously from the records of 7 local hospitals in the Soso district in Fukushima. Change in the number of staff was analyzed. <br><br>RESULTS: Staff shortages at hospitals reached a maximum within one month after the disaster (47% reported to work). The shortage of clerks was the most severe (38% reported to work), followed by nurses (48% reported to work). The shortages remained even 18 months after the disaster. <br><br>CONCLUSION: After a disaster in which the damage to hospital functions surpasses the structural damage, massive support of human resources in the acute phase and a smaller volume of support in the mid-term phase appear to be required, particularly for non-medical staff.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1932-6203",
doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0164952",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164952"
}