IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2017i1p53-d124924.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Associated with Maintaining the Mental Health of Employees after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Findings from Companies Located in the Evacuation Area

Author

Listed:
  • Masatsugu Orui

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Yuriko Suzuki

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
    Department of Adult Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Tokyo 187-8553, Japan)

  • Aya Goto

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
    Center for Integrated Science and Humanities & International Community health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

  • Seiji Yasumura

    (Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan)

Abstract

After the nuclear disaster in Fukushima on 11 March 2011, some businesses were permitted to continue operating even though they were located in the evacuation area designated by the Japanese government. The aim of this study was to examine differences in the mental health status, workplace, living environment, and lifestyle of employees in the evacuation and non-evacuation areas. We also investigated factors related to their mental health status. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from the questionnaire responses of 647 employees at three medium-sized manufacturing companies in the evacuation and non-evacuation areas. Through a cross-tabulation analysis, employees who worked at companies in the evacuation areas showed an increase in the duration of overtime work, work burden, and commute time, and had experienced separation from family members due to the radiation disaster and perceived radiation risks. The results of a multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, even in a harsh workplace and living environment, being younger, participating regularly in physical activity, having a social network (Lubben Social Network Scale-6 ≤ 12), laughing frequently, and feeling satisfied with one’s workplace and domestic life were significantly associated with maintaining a healthy mental health status after the disaster. These findings are applicable for workers’ health management measures after disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Masatsugu Orui & Yuriko Suzuki & Aya Goto & Seiji Yasumura, 2017. "Factors Associated with Maintaining the Mental Health of Employees after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Findings from Companies Located in the Evacuation Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2017:i:1:p:53-:d:124924
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/1/53/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/1/53/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oliver Hämmig & Georg Bauer, 2009. "Work-life imbalance and mental health among male and female employees in Switzerland," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 54(2), pages 88-95, April.
    2. Fumi Takeda & Haruko Noguchi & Takafumi Monma & Nanako Tamiya, 2015. "How Possibly Do Leisure and Social Activities Impact Mental Health of Middle-Aged Adults in Japan?: An Evidence from a National Longitudinal Survey," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-10, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Nobuaki Moriyama & Masaharu Tsubokura & Kiyotaka Watanabe & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2021. "Those Who Have Continuing Radiation Anxiety Show High Psychological Distress in Cases of High Post-Traumatic Stress: The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Shuhei Nomura & Michio Murakami, 2018. "Public Health Preparedness for and Response to Nuclear Disasters: An Editorial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-4, November.
    3. Masatsugu Orui & Chihiro Nakayama & Nobuaki Moriyama & Masaharu Tsubokura & Kiyotaka Watanabe & Takeo Nakayama & Minoru Sugita & Seiji Yasumura, 2020. "Current Psychological Distress, Post-traumatic Stress, and Radiation Health Anxiety Remain High for Those Who Have Rebuilt Permanent Homes Following the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Inoue, Yuhei & Lock, Daniel & Sato, Mikihiro & Aizawa, Kurumi & Mikura, Akane & Kohno, Natsumi & Ogasawara, Etsuko, 2024. "What explains the well-being benefits of physical activity? A mixed-methods analysis of the roles of participation frequency and social identification," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).
    2. Masood Badri & Mugheer Al Khaili & Guang Yang & Muna Al Bahar & Asma Al Rashdi, 2022. "Examining the Structural Effect of Working Time on Well-Being: Evidence from Abu Dhabi," International Journal of Social Sciences, European Research Center, vol. 11(2), pages 24-44, September.
    3. Ehab Salah Eshak, 2019. "Mental Health Disorders and Their Relationship with Work-Family Conflict in Upper Egypt," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 623-632, December.
    4. Tiia Kekäläinen & Alexandra M. Freund & Sarianna Sipilä & Katja Kokko, 2020. "Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Associations between Leisure Time Physical Activity, Mental Well-Being and Subjective Health in Middle Adulthood," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(4), pages 1099-1116, September.
    5. Shengwei Wu & Zhengzheng Xuan & Fei Li & Wei Xiao & Xiuqiong Fu & Pingping Jiang & Jieyu Chen & Lei Xiang & Yanyan Liu & Xiaoli Nie & Ren Luo & Xiaomin Sun & Hiuyee Kwan & Xiaoshan Zhao, 2016. "Work-Recreation Balance, Health-Promoting Lifestyles and Suboptimal Health Status in Southern China: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-16, March.
    6. Adam J. Novic & Charrlotte Seib & Nicola W. Burton, 2022. "Longitudinal Association of Physical Activity, Mastery and Psychological Distress in Mid-Aged Adults over 9-Years," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Cullati, Stéphane, 2014. "The influence of work-family conflict trajectories on self-rated health trajectories in Switzerland: A life course approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 23-33.
    8. Oshio, Takashi & Inoue, Akiomi & Tsutsumi, Akizumi, 2017. "Does work-to-family conflict really matter for health? Cross-sectional, prospective cohort and fixed-effects analyses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 36-42.
    9. Astrid M Chevance & Oumou S Daouda & Alexandre Salvador & Patrick Légeron & Yannick Morvan & Gilbert Saporta & Mounia N Hocine & Raphaël Gaillard, 2020. "Work-related psychosocial risk factors and psychiatric disorders: A cross-sectional study in the French working population," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Naif Albujulaya & Clare Stevinson, 2023. "Exercise Promotion in Saudi Arabia: Understanding Personal, Environmental, and Social Determinants of Physical Activity Participation and Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Fabian Onyekachi Ugwu & Ibeawuchi K. Enwereuzor & Jens Mazei, 2023. "Is Working from Home a Blessing or a Burden? Home Demands as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Work Engagement and Work-Life Balance," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 341-364, February.
    12. Maryam Dilmaghani & Vurain Tabvuma, 2022. "Fragile Families in Quebec and the Rest of Canada: A Comparison of Parental Work-Life Balance Satisfaction," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 695-728, April.
    13. Masatsugu Orui & Satomi Nakajima & Yui Takebayashi & Akiko Ito & Maho Momoi & Masaharu Maeda & Seiji Yasumura & Hitoshi Ohto, 2018. "Mental Health Recovery of Evacuees and Residents from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident after Seven Years—Contribution of Social Network and a Desirable Lifestyle," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, October.
    14. Adam Hege & Michael K. Lemke & Yorghos Apostolopoulos & Brian Whitaker & Sevil Sönmez, 2019. "Work-Life Conflict among U.S. Long-Haul Truck Drivers: Influences of Work Organization, Perceived Job Stress, Sleep, and Organizational Support," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-19, March.
    15. Peiyao Ji & Shihan Zhou & Ruohang Wang & Hongying Fan & Yan Wang, 2022. "Subjective Exercise Experience and Group Cohesion among Chinese Participating in Square Dance: A Moderated Mediation Model of Years of Participation and Gender," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2017:i:1:p:53-:d:124924. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.