Initiatives of Cooperating Organizations
Medical Corporation Tohokukai Tohokukai HospitalTohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Department of Preventive Psychiatry
Nonprofit Organization Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai
Japan Social Worker Association for Alcohol Related Problems
Supporters Club Members

Disaster relief for alcohol-related issues
Medical Corporation Tohokukai Tohokukai Hospital Community Support Manager
Psychiatric Social Worker - Toshihiro Suzuki
1. Overview of Support
Four years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and during this time, the MedicalCorporation Tohokukai Tohokukai Hospital (hereinafter referred to as our hospital) has been providing
disaster relief for alcohol-related problems. The following is a summary of the support.
Figure 1 shows the number of monthly support cases over the four years. The total number of support

Number of Cases

cases was 550, with an average of about 11 per month.

MarchFebruary
January 2015
DecemberNovember
October
SeptemberAugust
July
June
May
April
March
February
January 2014
DecemberNovember
October
SeptemberAugustJuly
JuneMay
April
MarchFebruary
January 2013
DecemberNovember
October
SeptemberAugustJuly
JuneMay
April
MarchFebruary
January 2012
DecemberNovember
October
SeptemberAugustJuly
JuneMay
April

Date

Figure 1

Monthly Support Cases (N=550 March 2011 – March 2015)

Figure 2 shows the number of support target individuals by region. Minamisanriku Town, which has
continued regular support, has the largest value, followed by Kesennuma City and Sendai City. In Naruko,
which is not a coastal area, many disaster victims live in inns and hotels as secondary shelters, and thisachievement is a result of the group work of the disaster victims there. The breakdown of "Others" is Rifu
Town, Fukushima Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture, etc.
Most of the activities implemented in the area indicated by the shaded bar graph are cooperated withthe Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center and account for about 70% of the total.
.

- 61 -Number of Cases
Activities over a wide
range of areas

OtherOnagawa

Natori

TagajoWatari

NarukoShiogama

Shichigahama

Iwanuma

Yamamoto

Ishinomaki

Higashi Matsushima

Sendai

Kesennuma

Minamisanriku

Figure 2

Number of Support Cases by Region (N=550 March 2011 – March 2015)*Activities such as prevention meetings and conferences related to the wide range of disasterstricken areas were counted as activities of “Sendai,” but the "Activities over a wide range ofareas" category was created from the statistics of March 2015.
2. Philosophy of Support for Supporters
Figure 3 shows the number of cases by specific contents of support activities. Networking within theregion, such as coordinating and discussing with each other until activities are actualized, is indispensable
to support activities. Therefore, "network coordination activities" are the basis of support. From the start ofour activities, our hospital has established a policy of " support for supporters" as a pillar and has been
focused on empowering local supporters. We have incorporated activities such as role-play and experiencesfrom individuals into our training so that it can be applied for on-site practices. In addition to these statistics,
we conducted a practical training course for alcohol dependence treatment at our hospital with the help of
the Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center for mental health care center staff members, healthcare
workers in the affected areas, and administrative supporters. A total of 76 supporters took part in intensive
training for 3 days to 1 week for a total of 131 days. This will be continued in 2015.

- 62 -

Network coordination activities
Support training for supporters
One-on-one visits to disaster victims
Case studies
Awareness through advertising
Supporters groupwork
Research (number of affected area status hearings andhealth surveys)
Mutual support group support
Disaster victim groupwork
Support for affected residents
Disaster victim assistance

Number of Cases

Figure 33.

Number of Cases by Type of Support [(some duplicates) March 2011 – March 2015]

Changes in Support Activities
Figure 4 shows the yearly comparison of the main support cases. Soon after the earthquake, wedistributed flyers to various areas to raise awareness of alcohol and investigated the affected areas. During
this time, we partnered with a private support organization and provided regular insomnia consultations at
container type temporary housing in Minamisanriku Town. We continued to provide regular support evenafter the withdrawal of the private organization from the area through “Supporter Groupwork” sessions
twice a month in cooperation with community health nurses and the Social Welfare Council's Support
Center for Disaster Victims. This group work became an effective method for supporting supporters incase of a large-scale disaster that could not be dealt with individually, by conducting case studies andsupporter care at the same time. As the number of case consultations and individual cases increased, thedemand for training on knowledge and skills from local supporters also increased. As the supporters
learned, the number of support cases gradually increased, which is shown in this graph. We hope that thecontinuation of this cycle will raise the level of all-purpose support, not limited to alcohol-related issues
in the region.

- 63 -Research

Mutual support G support

Supporters groupwork

Awareness throughadvertisingHome visits andconsultations fordisaster victims

Case studies

Support training forsupporters

Network coordination
activities

Number of Cases
in FY2011

Figure 4

Number of Cases
in FY2012

Number of Cases
in FY2013

Number of Cases
in FY2014

Main Support Cases by Year

*The "mutual support G support" item was separated from "support training for supporters"from the December 2014 statistics and counted separately.
4. In Summary
In FY2014, we focused on regional development support by conducting Self-Help Groups (hereinafterreferred to as SHG), which were said to be indispensable for the recovery of addiction. SHG activities incoastal areas were sparse, resulting in people’s vulnerabilities to be exposed. Another important aspect ofregional empowerment is the power of the parties involved. With the cooperation of the NPO Miyagi
Prefecture Danshukai and A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous), our hospital has been able to conduct training
and group work sessions in which the individual, supporters, and families can work together. The efforts
will continue in FY2015. Seeds that have been planted in the region have begun to sprout from the "localsoil."- 64 -