TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - 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
JO  - PLoS one
A1  - Ochi, Sae
A1  - Tsubokura, Masaharu
A1  - Kato, Shigeaki
A1  - Iwamoto, Shuichi
A1  - Ogata, Shinichi
A1  - Morita, Tomohiro
A1  - Hori, Arinobu
A1  - Oikawa, Tomoyoshi
A1  - Kikuchi, Antoku
A1  - Watanabe, Zenjiro
A1  - Kanazawa, Yukio
A1  - Kumakawa, Hiromi
A1  - Kuma, Yoshinobu
A1  - Kumakura, Tetsuo
A1  - Inomata, Yoshimitsu
A1  - Kami, Masahiro
A1  - Shineha, Ryuzaburo
A1  - Saito, Yasutoshi
SP  - e0164952
EP  - e0164952
VL  - 11
IS  - 10
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 1932-6203
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0164952
ID  - ref1
ER  -