3

Initiatives of Each Department
Kesennuma Regional Center

Community Support DivisionKesennuma Regional Center Initiatives
Kesennuma Regional Center

Community Support Division Manager

Psychiatric Social Worker - Mitsuaki Katayanagi
The main initiatives of FY2014 are described for each business. Since the number of activities in eachbusiness is described in Chapter 1 Part 3 of the FY2014 Activities by Business Item, we will keep it to aminimum here and focus on the business content.
1. Support for residents( 1 ) Kesennuma CityIn FY2014, like FY2013, in addition to the outreach program implemented by Miyagi Prefecture andKesennuma City after the conduction of the health surveys for the disaster victims, a support project foralcohol drinkers was conducted as part of the care prevention services. This project was implemented incooperation with the Area Comprehensive Support Center, the Health Promotion Division, and the
Medical corporation Tohokukai hospital. The Kesennuma Regional Center conducted visits to residents
who were considered at high risk for mental health issues. (Table 1).
The City Health Promotion Division began routine support weekly in July, and one psychiatric social
worker was sent to the company from September. From August, the Karakuwa General Branch also started
routine support weekly. These systems have made it possible to provide support not only to the disastervictims but also to the residents.
As a feature of the Kesennuma Regional Center, in addition to receiving requests and consultations
from related organizations and various groups for residents' support at places such as district meetings, in
2014, the number of requests and consultations increased. These were from teachers at the Kesennuma
Support School and junior high schools alongside accompanying requests from officials of local elderly
welfare facilities.

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Table 1 Support for Health Survey Visits
Support Content

Primary Support Organizations and Kesennuma Regional Center
Primary Support Target Individuals Number of Visits andSupport Cases

Visit support based on the
FY2013 temporary housing(container type temporary
housing) resident health surveys

January-May 2014
Primarily cases with high K6 scores

18

Visit support based on the
May-June 2014
FY2013 apartment typePrimarily cases with high K6 scores
temporary housing resident health and those that fall under “Drinksurveysalcohol from the mornings”
Visit support based on the
From February 2015
FY2014 temporary housing
Primarily cases with high K6 scores(container type temporary
housing) resident health surveys

14

Individual support for healthsurveys using the CAGE alcoholquestionnaire

139

August-December 2014
Cases in which 4 criteria + multiple
items were entered out of the 4criteria

20( 2 ) Minamisanriku Town
Miyagi Prefecture and Minamisanriku Town visited disaster victims regarding their health surveys(Table 2). Additionally, in May 2014, weekly support from a health promoter was started with one
psychiatric social worker joining from November onwards. This made it possible to provide support tonot only the disaster victims but also to the residents.
In addition to this, from FY2014, the Disaster Victims Support Center’s support staff who supervised
the container type temporary housing residents began to offer support regularly. Through regular support,
support staff received requests to counsel residents and accompany them throughout the year.
Table 2 Support for Post-Health Survey Visits
Support Content

Primary Support Duration Kesennuma Regional Center
Number of Visits andSupport Cases

Visit support based on the FY2013 health May-July 2014
surveys (container type temporary housing)
Visit support based on the FY2013 healthsurveys (at home)June-August 2014

From February 2015
Visit support based on the FY2014
temporary housing (container type
temporary housing) resident health surveys
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18
33
27

( 3 ) Considerations
As the reconstruction work in the region is prolonged, the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake
are likely to have affected all the residents, and not only those who were directly affected. This is evident
from the fact that in addition to the earthquake-related organizations, the consultation requesters expanded
to consulting institutions, educational institutions, welfare institutions, etc. As this trend is expected tocontinue in the future, we want to emphasize addressing the issues of individualizing and diversifying
residents while building broad collaborations with various related organizations, including municipalities,
and implementing and developing each business.
2. Support for supporters( 1 ) Kesennuma City①

Assignment of professional staff to municipalities (regular support and temporary staff)
Professional staff members were assigned, and efforts were made to reduce the burden on local

public health nurses by assisting them and supporting disaster victims (Table 3).
Table 3 Assignment of Professional Staff
Assignment Location

Assignment Duration and Profession

Health Promotion Division

July-August 2014 Regular support once a week
(1 psychiatric social worker)
September 2014-March 2015 Dispatched Mondays-Fridays(1 psychiatric social worker)

Karakuwa General Branch
August 2014-March 2015 Regular support once a week
Health and Welfare Division(1 public health nurse)

Karakuwa General Branch Health and Welfare Division②

Caregiver consultations in infant health checkups
Professional staff members were assigned to do infant health checkups, and a system for
caregivers to receive consultations was provided. Besides, caregivers were allowed to participate
in a conference after the diagnosis and exchange of information with the health staff, as necessary.

③ Support for the mental health of the city staff
Based on the request of the City General Affairs Division, we discussed with the Tohoku
University Graduate School of Medicine Department of Preventive Psychiatry (hereinafter referred
to as endowed course), the Miyagi University Faculty of Nursing, and the Kesennuma Public
Health Center about the health of the staff, to provide adequate support to them. In the same way
as in FY2013, in FY2014, we collaborated with endowed courses to conduct health surveys andone-on-one interviews for the city staff (including temporary staff), as well as group work sessions
for the administrative staff based on their health survey results.

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Also, a health counseling room for the city staff (including temporary staff) was established incooperation with the endowed courses, as continued from FY2013. Counseling rooms were set up
in the central and branch offices, and the Kesennuma Regional Center was in charge of the central
office. From April 2014, the health counseling rooms were set up from 10 AM to 4 PM on the third
Wednesday of every month.
④ Support for related support organizations and various support organizations
We cooperated on projects by related support organizations, providing support for othersupporters (Table 4).
Table 4

Support for Related Support Organizations and Various Other Support Organizations

Support Target

Support Content

Number of Sessions

KRA (Kesennuma
Reconstruction
Association)
WelfareDepartment Staff

KRA (Kesennuma Reconstruction Association) Participated 8 times
Welfare Department Staff attended the tea parties
held at each container type temporary housing(targeted to residents living in container type
temporary housing) and supported the smooth
operation of the tea parties by the staff.

( 2 ) Minamisanriku Town
① Assignment of professional staff to municipalities (regular support and secondment)
Professional staffs were assigned, and efforts were made to reduce the word burden on local
government public health nurses by providing support for victims and assisting public health nurses(Table 5).
Table 5 Assignment of Professional Staff
Assignment Location

Assignment Duration and Profession

Health and Welfare Division
Health Promotion Section

May-October 2014 Regular support once a week
(1 psychiatric social worker)
November 2014-March 2015 Dispatched Mondays-Fridays(1 psychiatric social worker)② Support for the mental health of the town staff
Based on the request of the Town General Affairs Division, we discussed with the endowed course,
the Kesennuma Public Health Center, and the Miyagi Mental Health and Welfare Center about the healthof the town staff and provided support. The Kesennuma Regional Center opened a consultation room forthe town staff on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 12 PM to 6 PM.
③ Support for the Disaster Victims Life Support Center
As in FY2013, the “Chiefs' Meeting” was held regularly as a place for the chiefs of the life support
staff to discuss matters.

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In fiscal 2014, we visited each satellite office regularly and started by creating relationships where
each support staff member could meet each other face-to-face. During each satellite office visit, we
checked the status of residents who needed assistance and provided advice on how to interact withthem. Additionally, group meetings were held regularly at each satellite office to reduce the mental
burden of the support staff. At the group meetings, we tried to make this a time for self-care among
the support staff, allowing them to freely discuss their daily lives and daily support tasks.
( 3 ) Considerations
Regarding supporters, especially during the allocation of specialized staff to local governments,
we provided regular support to the Kesennuma City Health Promotion Division and subsequently
assigned staff members to be seconded. Furthermore, regular support was provided and staff members
were assigned to be seconded for the Minamisanriku Town Health and Welfare Division Health
Promotion Section, which could not be worked on until FY2013. Regular support was also started for
the Health and Welfare Division of the Karakuwa General Branch in Kesennuma City, for support tothe municipality departments to be promoted more effectively. Both Kesennuma City andMinamisanriku Town continue to have a shortage of staff and are overworked. It is presumed thatthese situations were no exception in the Health and Welfare Division. Support for health and welfare
departments should be addressed by the entire regional center, including temporary staff. It is one of
the most important projects that form the basis of the Mental Health Care Center. This project will be
expanded after FY 2015 as well, and we will respond to the support requests from the Health andWelfare Divisions with sincerity and hope to contribute to the health and welfare fields of eachmunicipality.
3. Raising Public Awareness( 1 ) Kesennuma City
① Publication in Sanriku Shimpo “Sanriku Kokoro Communications”
In collaboration with the Kesennuma Public Health Center, a column called “Sanriku Kokoro
Communications” was published once a month from July in the newspaper “Sanriku Shimpo,” which is
subscribed to mainly to Kesennuma City. Through the newspaper, we were able to provide the generalpublic with accurate information on mental health and advertise the consultation desk (Table 6).

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Table 6 Contents of Publications in the “Sanriku Shimpo“Sanriku Kokoro Communications”
Number of
Publications

Month

Primary Publication Content

1

July

Fourth-year since the earthquake

Kesennuma Public
Health Center2

AugustAlcohol and drinking habits – part 1

Kesennuma Regional
Center3

September

Alcohol and drinking habits – part 2

Kesennuma Regional
Center4

October

Sleep / Break – part 1

Kesennuma Regional
Center5

November

Sleep / Break – part 2

Kesennuma Regional
Center6

December

Mental care associated with changes in
the living environment

Kesennuma Regional
Center7

January

Mental care for the elderly withdementia

Kesennuma Public
Health Center8

February

Self-care to relieve anxiety and tension– part 1

Kesennuma Public
Health Center

9

March

Self-care to relieve anxiety and tension– part 2

Kesennuma Public
Health Center

Allotment② “Heart Café (Koko Café),” co-sponsored with the City Raising Public Awareness Project
The “Heart Café” is a project in which Kesennuma City aims to provide opportunities for disastervictims, such as residents living in apartment type temporary housing, to interact with each otherand to go out to prevent isolation, and to provide self-care methods related to mental health. The
project was created in 2014, with the cooperation of the Mitsumine Hospital, and co-sponsored by
the Kesennuma City Social Welfare Association Volunteer Center and the Kesennuma Regional
Center.
③ Cooperation towards the city’s "Health Festival"
The Health Festival is based on the "2nd Kennuma Health Plan 21" and the "2nd Dietary
Education Promotion Plan" to prevent the deterioration of physical conditions due to lifestylerelated diseases and stress, the decline of physical functions, etc. This project is implemented by
Kesennuma City to maintain and improve the health of citizens. On the day of the event, the “HeartCafé” provided tea and coffee to visiting citizens, and distributed educational products on mental
health.
④ Other
Mental health support activities were provided to residents (Table 7).
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Table 7 Other Support Activities
Support Targets

Support Content

Number of Sessions
Instructors were dispatched at the request of the 1

Kesennuma City
Retired Employees Kesennuma City Retired Employees Association.
Association
Lectures and practical skills on the "understanding andprevention of dementia" were offered to gain proper
knowledge regarding dementia and to create
opportunities to deepen their understanding. Three
lecturers were invited from JFK (Japan Fukushi
Kesennuma – “Kesennuma Young People's
Association to consider Japan’s Welfare”).

1

Shishiori District
Residents

A lecturer was dispatched at the request of the
Kesennuma Health Promotion Staff Shishiori
District Council. The lecture content was “Regarding
Depression Prevention"

Residents

A lecturer was dispatched to the FY2014 Motoyoshi 1
District Dementia Round-Table Conference at therequest of the Southern Community Comprehensive
Support Center. The lecture was about reducing
elderly care stress, and a practical skill regarding
tapping touch therapy.

Goemongahara
Temporary
Residents

At the Goemongahara Baseball Stadium Temporary 7
Assembly Hall, we helped to open a mental healthconsultation desk with the Kesennuma District
Support Center.

Residents

We participated in the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting Participated 11
held in the Motoyoshi district and cooperated with the times / Held a total
sponsors, the Miyagi Prefecture Danshukai.
of 12 times

Shishiori District Under the leadership of Miyagi University, a health 5class was held by the Hyogo Prefectural University,
Temporary
Housing Residents the Kesennuma City Health Promotion Division, andthe Kesennuma District Support Center to promote thecontinuation of Shishiori district temporary housing
residents’ healthy lifestyles. The Kesennuma Regional
Center oversaw the mental health consultations in thehealth classrooms.
Residents

We participated in the 2014 Kesennuma health Total of 4 times
promotion campaign sponsored by the Kesennuma
Health and Welfare Office. During Suicide Prevention
Month, pocket tissues with information on “mental
health checks” and “consulting agencies” were
distributed at four shopping malls in Kesennuma.

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( 2 ) Minamisanriku Town①

Training for the fire brigade members
In cooperation with the Prefectural Fire Department and the Town Hazard Management Department,

training

wasconducted

onpost-disastermentalhealthformembersof

thetown'sfire brigade. Lectures were given on the psychological progress of residents affected not only by
earthquakes but also by other various disasters such as typhoons and fires, as well as the mental health of
the supporters.
②

Training for children’s mental health care
As a request from the nonprofit organization, Workers Corporation Minamisanriku Office, a lecture

titled "mental health care that families can do", was given. The lecture was primarily about the changes
in children after an earthquake, their understanding of the background, and how to interact and support
them, along with specific examples.
( 3 ) Considerations
In FY2014, in addition to the high-risk approach to residents with low mental health after the Great
East Japan Earthquake, a characteristic of this year was the demand for the development of a population
approach to raising the mental health of all residents. The Kesennuma Regional Center has also tried torespond flexibly through various approaches to provide support in response to such situations.
In the future, support will be required not only for mental health after the Great East Japan Earthquake
but also for local mental health and welfare issues in Kesennuma city and Minamisanriku town. Therefore,
through coordination with related mental health and welfare organizations, as well as with other relatedorganizations and organizations operating in other fields and multidisciplinary areas, we hope to develop
activities to raise public awareness about mental health to citizens.
4. Human resource development and training( 1 ) Kesennuma City
The following activities were implemented for supporters implementing various support activities(Table 8).
Table 8 Primary Human Resource Development and Training Content
Target Person

Content

Number of Sessions

Kesennuma City Health A lecturer was dispatched to the Kesennuma City 1
Promotion Members
Health Promotion Staff Federation, which washeld as a part of the Kesennuma City HealthSupport Project, to provide the health promotion
staff an opportunity to learn about self-care(tapping touch) methods. The Miyagi Disaster
Mental Health Care Center Supporters Club
members were dispatched as lecturers,- 12 -

Supporters who wereWe dispatched a lecturer to a workshop organized 1
primarily engaged inby the Health and Welfare Division of thevisiting temporary
Motoyoshi General Branch. The contents of the
housing in the Motoyoshi training included lectures on ideas for betterarea (support centers,
support and experiential learning on selftemporary housing
understanding and understanding of others.
support members,
government officials, area
comprehensive support
centers, privateorganizations, social
welfare councils)
Motoyoshi Area
Comprehensive Support
Center staff, District CareManagers

A workshop (including lectures and role-play) 1
was held at the request of the Motoyoshi Area
Comprehensive Support Center. As for thecontent, individuals learned how to respond tonegative and emotional responses by carerecipients.

KRA (Kesennuma
Reconstruction
Association) Welfare
Department Staff

Training sessions were conducted to maintain the 11
health of supporters who were assisting disastervictims, including practical skills in self-care andlectures to improve their skills (3 lectures, 4
practical skills sessions, 2 group discussions, one
interview, one personality test).

( 2 ) Minamisanriku Town
Holding of the “Earthquake Mental Health Care Networking Event in Minamisanriku Town”•

The purpose was to create a network between supporters working in Kesennuma and Minamisanriku.
In FY2014, the venue was Minamisanriku Town Hotel Kanyo.
( 3 ) Considerations
Some of the characteristics of FY2014 were the increasing demand for the acquisition of skills
required for interpersonal support situations as well as training for methods to relieve accumulated
fatigue. These characteristics reflect the needs of supporters caused by long-term disaster relief activities.
Based on the current regional reconstruction situation, it is expected that the support activities of eachorganization and each group will continue in the future. Therefore, the Kesennuma Regional Center
would like to proceed with the preparations so that we can respond to those requests in FY2015.
5. Other
As support for various activities, we helped with the “Sharing and Understanding Meeting,” hosted by
the Nonprofit Organization, Sendai Grief Care Study Group, which was held for bereaved families.

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