@article{ref1,
title="The impact of the CoViD-19 pandemic on suicide rate trends in the tsunami-disaster-affected area following the Great East Japan Earthquake",
journal="Crisis",
year="2021",
author="Orui, Masatsugu and Saeki, Suzuka and Kozakai, Yuki and Harada, Shuichiro and Hayashi, Mizuho",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: People who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) were expected to have additional levels of psychological burden resulting from the stressful conditions imposed during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; consequently, suicide rates may increase. <br><br>AIM: We aimed to carry out continuous monitoring of suicide rates in the affected area following the GEJE under COVID-19 pandemic conditions. <br><br>METHOD: This descriptive study monitored the suicide rates of the coastal area of Miyagi Prefecture, where disaster-related mental health activities have been continuing following severe damage caused by the tsunami disaster. An exponential smoothing time-series analysis that converted suicide rates into a smooth trend was conducted. <br><br>RESULTS: Although the suicide rate in the affected area was higher than the national average in February 2020, it showed a declining trend during the COVID-19 pandemic, while showing an increase trend in the national and non-affected areas. Limitations: Uncertainty about the direct reasons for suicide and the short time-scale observation are the limitations of this study. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Although the national suicide rate increased, this was not the case for the affected area. Our findings may provide important lessons for suicide prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which needs careful regional monitoring of the state of suicide and of high-risk approaches such as disaster-related mental health activities.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0227-5910",
doi="10.1027/0227-5910/a000832",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000832"
}