TY - JOUR PY - 2016// TI - Incidence of domestic violence against pregnant females after the Great East Japan Earthquake in Miyagi Prefecture: the Japan Environment and Children's Study JO - Disaster medicine and public health preparedness A1 - Sakurai, Kasumi A1 - Nishigori, Hidekazu A1 - Nishigori, Toshie A1 - Mizuno, Satoshi A1 - Obara, Taku A1 - Iwama, Noriyuki A1 - Watanabe, Zen A1 - Ishikuro, Mami A1 - Tatsuta, Nozomi A1 - Nishijima, Ichiko A1 - Sugawara, Junichi A1 - Fujiwara, Ikuma A1 - Arima, Takahiro A1 - Kuriyama, Shinichi A1 - Metoki, Hirohito A1 - Takahashi, Fumiaki A1 - Nakai, Kunihiko A1 - Yaegashi, Nobuo SP - 216 EP - 226 VL - 11 IS - 2 N2 - OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to clarify the correlation between the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and domestic violence (DV) against pregnant females after the disaster in Miyagi Prefecture, an area damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.

METHODS: We analyzed 7600 pregnant females from June to December 2011. The incidence of physical and mental DV and the proportions in the inland, north coastal, and south coastal areas of Miyagi Prefecture and nationwide were calculated, and a chi-square test was conducted for comparison. The risk factors for DV were estimated with multivariate logistic regression analyses on a prefecture-wide basis.

RESULTS: The incidence levels for physical DV were found to be 5.9% in the north coastal area, which was significantly higher than in the inland area (1.3%, P=0.0007) and nationwide (1.5%, P<0.0001). There were no significant differences in the incidence of mental DV between the 3 areas in Miyagi Prefecture (inland 15.2%, north coast 15.7%, and south coast 18.8%) or nationwide (13.8%). Experiencing disease or injury in someone close and changes in the family structure were significantly associated with mental DV in Miyagi Prefecture.

CONCLUSION: Continuous monitoring and support for pregnant females may be necessary to address this issue in disaster-affected areas. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 11).

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1935-7893 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2016.109 ID - ref1 ER -