252271 Work of Public Health Centers in the Tohoku Region

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 11:10 AM

Katsumi Nakase, MD , Okayama City Public Health Center, Okayam, Japan
Sendai City has total one million people who are covered by 5 public health centers. In the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster of 11th March, the scale of disaster was so huge that the public health centers could not carry out their basic functions by themselves only. So many health professionals have been dispatched from all over the country by the coordination of the Central Ministry. I myself as a public health doctor visited Miyagino Ward in Sendai City with a psychologist, 2 public health nurses and a logistician on 21st March. The numbers of deaths, missings in the City and shelters in the Ward were reported to be 704, 45 and 33, respectively, when I visited. I discussed with the director of the Ward Health Center relieves given in a devastated area includes: water/sanitation, food/nutrition, shelter-arrangement, health services according to the Sphere Project of the City (http://www.sphereproject.org/) . The actual conditions of the people and the services given to them thorough public health centers in an affected area will be reported in a session.

Learning Areas:
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related nursing
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
List the facts of what happened during and after 3 recent disasters in Japan (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plants) Discuss the support policies which have been actually implemented with special reference to public health within the context of these unforeseen and destructive disasters Explain the knowledge and information gained through the experiences of Japan during this difficult time. Formulate new ideas to face the on-going problems in Japan.

Keywords: Disasters, Recovery

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to give this presentation because I have collected the information of the facts and supports concerning earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima atomic power plant accident as the Chairman of the Japan Public Health Association and have delivered those information to the whole Directors of Public Health Centers in a country, which was the invaluable data bases to organize the support actions to be sent from the areas where the Directors work.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Message from Japan on the Earthquake, Tsunami and Catastrophic Atomic Accident: What happened and what has been done
See more of: APHA-Education Board