Specifying necessary measures to ease phycological anxiety of residents of Fukushima - applying meta-analysis of Chernobyl research results

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24500820
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Applied health science
Research Institution	Nagasaki University
Principal Investigator	TAKAHASHI Jumpei 長崎大学, 国際連携研究戦略本部, 助教 (50574026)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	TAKAMURA Noboru 長崎大学, 原爆後障害医療研究所, 教授 (30295068)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
Budget Amount *help	¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,950,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥450,000)
Keywords	国際研究者交流 / ウクライナ / ベラルーシ / チェルノブイリ / リスクコミュニケーション / 放射能防護
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Worsening of mental health of the residents of the area affected by Fukushima nuclear power plant was predictable due to contradicting information on radiation health effects and distrust in public administration and specialists. In this study a number of interviews and discussions are conducted with health/research/population support institutions in Belarus and Ukraine which experienced aftermath of the Chernobyl catastrophe, the world's worst nuclear accident, in 1986, and collected information and materials were then analysed. It became clear that in the affected countries specialists recognize larger significance of the social psychological stress in comparison with radiation health effects and importance of popularizing so-called "radiation culture" as a guideline for protecting population with correct knowledge in radiation polluted areas and for maintaining good mental health by avoiding to fall into a status of helplessness such as victim syndrome.