ArticleBMJ open2019
Long-term psychological recovery process and its associated factors among survivors of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in Japan: a qualitative study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- The 16-year psychological journey of amputee survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake: a qualitative study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Psychological impact of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes on non-victims: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Qualitative Data Collection 1-Year Post Disaster Provided Insight Into Unique Concerns of Affected Community Residents During Long-Term Recovery - Illinois, July 2022.Disaster medicine and public health preparedness · 2024Article
- Acute-Stage Mental Health Symptoms by Natural Disaster Type: Consultations of Disaster Psychiatric Assistance Teams (DPATs) in Japan.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Changes in Japanese Junior High School Students' Sense of Coherence Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study of Children and Mothers.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake had an enormous negative impact on survivors' health. Many survivors experienced psychological distress and their long-term psychological recovery process remains unclear. Our objective was thus to explore this long-term psychological recovery process.
designQualitative study.
settingFrom January to December 2015, face-to-face interviews were conducted in Kobe, Japan.
participants20 affected survivors (55% female; ages ranged from 7 to 60 at the time of the disaster)-10 volunteer storytellers, six first responders (firefighters/public health nurses) and four post-traumatic stress disorder patients. OUTCOME MEASURES: We asked participants about their experiences and psychological distress relating to the earthquake and what facilitated or hindered their psychological recovery. We analysed interview data using constructivist grounded theory.
resultsParticipants experienced diverse emotional reactions immediately after the disaster and often hyperfocused on what they should do now. This hyperfocused state led to both mental and physical health problems several months after the disaster. Months, and sometimes years, after the disaster, guilt and earthquake narratives (ie, expressing thoughts and feelings about the earthquake) played key roles in survivors' psychological recovery: guilt suppressed their earthquake narrative; conversely, the narrative alleviated feelings of distress about the earthquake. In time, participants reconsidered their earthquake experiences both alone and through social interaction. This alleviated their emotional reactions; however, participants still experienced attenuated emotional reactions, and some hid their feelings of distress even 20 years postdisaster. Interpersonal relationships modified this psychological process both positively and negatively.
conclusionsFuture psychosocial support plans for disaster survivors may need to (1) include both mental and physical care in the transition from the acute phase to the recovery phase; (2) facilitate supportive interpersonal relationships for survivors during the mid-term recovery phase and (3) provide long-term psychological support to the most traumatised survivors, even if they appear to be functioning normally.
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