FY2020 Miyagi Mental Health Care Forum Implementation Report
Introduction
The Miyagi Mental Health Care Forum has been hosted annually by the Miyagi Disaster Mental HealthCare Center (hereinafter, “Center”) to facilitate exchange and information-sharing among supporters since 2017.
It was planned from an early stage that the FY2020 event would involve content that summarizes support
activities conducted over the past 10 years, given the major milestone of 10 years having passed since theearthquake.
However, just over a month after the end of the last Mental Health Care Forum, the novel coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) became a global pandemic, and various training activities and projects were forced
to be canceled or postponed.
As the number of infected individuals continues to increase in Miyagi Prefecture, this year was truly one oftrial and error. Questions loomed regarding whether the FY2020 forum could be hosted, and what form of forum
would ensure stakeholders’ safety.
1.

Implementation overview
The event was initially set to be hosted at the Sendai City Welfare Plaza in November 2020. However,given the increase in COVID-19 infections in the prefecture since the beginning of the autumn, the in-person
event was canceled, and we began preparations to host an online event sometime in February 2021. It was aformat with which we were unfamiliar, and there was a great deal of anxiety in our implementation; however,thanks to careful discussions between the managers, and the assistance of external collaborators, we were able
to host the event.
The speakers were the following four people who have mainly been responsible for mental health-related
support activities in the prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake, with all participation conducted online.
Furthermore, we imposed time restrictions to reduce the risk of infection, sufficient distances were maintained
between speakers in the photography venue, and we carefully considered ventilation and infection protocols. To
avoid problems due to communication lines, questions from participants were answered using the “Q&A”
function instead of verbal responses. We hosted the event with equal consideration to both COVID-19
countermeasures and to improving the communication environment.
(1) Purpose of the event
The purpose was to take a prefecture-wide and broad perspective to share the current situation of the disasterarea from practical reports of supporters, deepen knowledge through the exchange of opinions of participants,
and investigate the way forward for community mental health and welfare.
(2) Date and time of event:February 27, 2021 (Saturday) 13:00–15:00.
(3) Event format:
online conference system, Zoom, was used
(4) Participants:
Supporters, such as local governments, as well as associated organizations’staff involved in disaster victim support(5) Theme:
Summary of support for disaster victims and prospects for communitymental health and welfare(6) Program: Part 1:
Summary of mental health care of the disaster area in Miyagi Prefecture(13:05–14:05)
Speaker: Hidekatsu Shirasawa (board member, Tohokukai Hospital)
Keizo Hara (Director, Karakoro Station Hara Clinic)
Akiko Obara (Director, Miyagi Mental Health and Welfare Center)
Naru Fukuchi (Vice President, Miyagi Disaster Mental HealthCare Center)
Part 2: Discussion (14:05–15:00)

2.

Participant questionnaire results
We received 45 responses out of 81 participants (response rate of 55.6%). Approximately half of theparticipants were associated with government agencies and medical institutions. The other half were associatedwith welfare, education, and private organizations. For this event, approximately 30% of participants were from‐ 22 ‐outside of the prefecture.
For the content evaluation, responses were extremely favorable, with over 80% giving a response of “very good,”
and the number increasing to almost 100% when including responses of “somewhat good.” Many of thecomments included “district (community) diagnosis,” “outreach,” and “human resource development.” Many
participants commented that this was an opportunity to re-affirm the necessity and importance of these aspects.
Many comments asked about what the ideal way forward should be with support activities in the era of COVID19, as well as requests for the implementation of Zoom-based projects in the future.
3.

Event video and release of materials on day of event
Video of this forum is open to the public, along with the materials on the day of the event. These can beaccessed from the Center homepage. Therefore, if you were unable to participate, please refer to the accessmethod described below and confirm.

4.

Conclusion
Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to host this event using Zoom; simultaneously, however,there were many advantages. For example, participants were able to join not only from other prefectures, butalso from overseas. There have been many external supporters in Miyagi Prefecture since immediately after thedisaster. Additionally, supporters who once worked at the Center are also active in other prefectures. We believe
it is significant that such individuals had the opportunity to learn about the current situation of Miyagi Prefecture,
10 years after the earthquake, while remaining in their respective regions. Moreover, for the Center, we are
grateful that many people are still interested in Miyagi Prefecture.
Furthermore, the events of the day were recorded and posted on our homepage. The speakers at this eventare central figures who have supported the mental health of Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan
Earthquake in their respective positions. Thus, we think that the compilation of the materials and remarks ofsuch individuals will serve as a valuable resource toward future disasters. These are new transmission methods
created from the COVID-19 crisis.
COVID-19 is expected to continue for the time being. Many projects, such as salon activities, were limited
in FY2020 due to COVID-19; however, as we accumulated knowledge on project implementation in COVID19, we gradually moved toward resuming these projects. We believe that there is a need to continue maintaining
important venues and connections for disaster-affected areas with sufficient consideration and innovations.

Forum photography venue

YouTube video transmitted from homepage[Access method]① Access on Center homepage at http://miyagi-kokoro.org/.
＊Alternatively, search for “Miyagi Disaster Mental Health Care Center” on your browser.

② From the top-page menu on the homepage:“Activity Report” ➡ “Mental Health Care Forum (FY2020)”➡ “FY2020 Miyagi Mental Health Care Forum (hosted 2021.2.27)➡ Access from “Video is here”.
[Access from smartphone]
In addition to the above-mentioned method, the video is accessible using the QR code on the right.

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