Competencies required for occupational health professionals in disaster management based on their personal experiences of workplaces damaged by the Kumamoto earthquakes

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  • Yoshikawa Etsuko
    Department of Nursing, Japanese Red Cross College of Nursing
  • Abe Hitomi
    Graduate School of Medicine, Tokai University
  • Yokogawa Tomoko
    Central Japan Railway Company, Shizuoka Health Care Office, Health Care Center
  • Kubo Tatsuhiko
    Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University School of Medicine
  • Tateishi Seiichiro
    Department of Occupational Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan
  • Mori Koji
    Department of Occupational Health Practice and Management, Institute of Industrial Ecological Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 熊本地震で被災した事業場に所属する産業保健専門職の経験からとらえた災害時に必要な産業保健専門職のコンピテンシー
  • クマモト ジシン デ ヒサイ シタ ジギョウジョウ ニ ショゾク スル サンギョウ ホケン センモンショク ノ ケイケン カラ トラエタ サイガイジ ニ ヒツヨウ ナ サンギョウ ホケン センモンショク ノ コンピテンシー

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Abstract

<p>Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the competencies required for occupational health professionals in disaster management based on their personal experiences of workplaces damaged by the Kumamoto earthquakes. Methods: This study adopted a qualitative descriptive design using semi-structured interviews. The study participants included eight occupational health professionals who had been engaged in occupational health practice at workplaces affected by the Kumamoto earthquakes and subsequently employed at the same workplace. Data analyses were performed using a qualitative data analysis method. The researcher read transcripts of the interviews verbatim and extracted subcategories and categories, seeking points of commonality among homogeneous and heterogeneous elements while identifying content related to the competencies of the professionals during a disaster. Results: Nine categories and 29 subcategories were extracted. The following competencies were identified as skills required for occupational health professionals when a disaster occurred: “perceiving the essentials of the situation through a comprehensive understanding of the health impacts caused by disasters,” “prioritizing tasks while appropriately understanding a situation that is changing over time,” “starting from what one can do while ensuring one’s own health and safety,” “continuing occupational health practice by devising efficient approaches while flexibly responding to the situation,” “creating an environment that enables each occupational health team member to fulfill their role,” and “adjusting the positions of occupational health departments within organizations to utilize networks.” The following competencies were identified as skills required for occupational health professionals’ disaster response and preparedness: “having the essential personal qualities of occupational health professionals,” “establishing relationships of trust with employees and companies,” and “linking one’s experience of a disaster to future occupational health practice.” Conclusions: The competencies required for occupational health professionals in disaster management are disaster response and preparedness. Moreover, these aspects in disaster response and preparedness suggest that occupational health professionals are required to have strategic and creative thinking skills including organizational approaches such as boosting networking in the workplace and establishing employer–employee relationships based on multifaceted assessment and situational flexibility.</p>

Journal

  • SANGYO EISEIGAKU ZASSHI

    SANGYO EISEIGAKU ZASSHI 63 (6), 291-303, 2021-11-20

    Japan Society for Occupational Health

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