Sendai City Mental Health Welfare Center, Sendai 980-0845, Japan.
Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Oct 3;18(19):10424. doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910424.
: This practical report aims to publicize the ongoing disaster-related mental health interventions following the Great East Japan Earthquake during the COVID-19 pandemic. : Disaster-related mental health interventions consisted of: (1) screening high-risk evacuees with high psychological distress (Kessler 6 score ≥ 13) or binge drinking; and (2) visiting selected high-risk individuals and providing them counseling through outreach in evacuee housing. These activity records were compiled from existing material in the Sendai City Office; therefore, no new interviews or questionnaire surveys were conducted. : During the COVID-19 pandemic, we introduced telephone counseling and shortened the time of support as a result of the restrictions. Counselors addressed issues of "loneliness" or "isolation" among evacuees, who had little connection with society due to the pandemic. Moreover, the procedure for obtaining COVID-19 special financial aid was explained to evacuees in financial difficulty. During this period, the suicide rates in the affected area did not increase significantly as compared to the national average. : Our report may be instructive in terms of preventing suicide during the pandemic using high-risk approaches and counselors trained in disaster-related mental health interventions.
本实践报告旨在宣传大 东日本地震后在 COVID-19 大流行期间正在进行的与灾害相关的心理健康干预措施。与灾害相关的心理健康干预措施包括：（1）对具有高度心理困扰（Kessler 6 得分≥13）或 binge drinking 的高危疏散人员进行筛查；（2）对选定的高危个人进行家访，并通过外展为他们提供咨询。这些活动记录是从仙台市办公室现有的材料中汇编的，因此没有进行新的访谈或问卷调查。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，由于限制，我们引入了电话咨询，并缩短了支持时间。咨询师解决了疏散人员中因疫情而与社会联系甚少而产生的“孤独”或“隔离”问题。此外，向有经济困难的疏散人员解释了获得 COVID-19 特别财政援助的程序。在此期间，受灾地区的自杀率与全国平均水平相比没有显著增加。我们的报告可能对使用受过灾害相关心理健康干预培训的高危方法和咨询师来预防大流行期间的自杀具有指导意义。
