Food and nutrition assistance activities at emergency shelters and survivors’ homes after the Great East Japan earthquake, and longitudinal changes in vulnerable groups needing special assistance
Nobuyo Tsuboyama-Kasaoka, Sakiko Ueda, Kazuko Ishikawa‐Takata
Abstract
During disasters, some vulnerable individuals are unable to eat the food that is distributed and thus need special assistance. Hence, the aim of this study was to reveal what kinds of nutrition assistance are provided following a disaster, which groups of vulnerable individuals need special nutrition assistance, and at which phase. This cross-sectional survey was using a self-administered postal-based questionnaire. We analyzed data from 435 registered dietitians who had worked in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, collected from a questionnaire survey. At emergency shelters, the groups most identified as needing special assistance in phase 0 were infants and children, followed by elderly and then nursing mothers. In phases 2 and 3, the most identified group was elderly, followed by diabetes patients, and then hypertension patients. The much information that dietitians used to identify vulnerable individuals needing special assistance was provided by doctors and public health nurses. At survivors’ homes, the group most identified as needing special nutrition assistance was elderly in all phases. This study showed that the vulnerable groups that need special nutrition assistance differ by phases after disaster. The needs for nutrition assistance were infants and elderly in early stage, and chronic disease patients and elderly in mid-to long-term. Therefore, it is necessary to provide nutrition assistance at the appropriate timing according to priority.