Experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake for Women Currently Living in the Disaster-affected Area

<p>Semi-structured interviews were conducted in August, 2018 to clarify how to support women’s health, especially women’s mental health in the restoration period after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The interviews with six women currently living in the area hit by the disaster included their experiences over the past seven years after the disaster. The qualitatively analyzed results produced the following eight categories : <a feeling of guilt and a sense of loss after the disaster>, <anger over enormous damage by the tsunami>, <anxiety about fading memories of the disaster and weakening awareness of disaster prevention with the passage of time>, <one’s living assured by the survival of one’s family, house and community>, <self-confidence about the application of the household knowledge and skills based on the local tradition to various cases in the disaster>, <desire of introducing the knowledge obtained from both the past experiences and the experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake>, <thought of protecting one’s own family from disasters> and <a sense of accomplishment obtained through various activities developed from the experiences of the disaster>. From these categories the three core categories of : [negative feelings aroused when looking back on the disaster], [emotional support provided by connection with the community and performance of the caretaking role after the disaster] and [a sense of mission and a sense of accomplishment obtained through the disaster] were extracted. Various activities connecting with the society such as the caretaker’s work were found to activate the women’s life and encourage them. However, the survey results showed that their sense of loss experienced by the disaster has not yet healed. The results suggested that it was necessary to provide a means for helping the women to follow the grieving process and a supporting system that can give the women something to live for.</p>