title: [Challenges faced by psychiatric services in Miyagi Prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake].
abstract: Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the number of patients with onset, relapse, and exacerbation of mental disorders was expected to increase in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the worst affected areas. The functioning of almost all psychiatric hospitals sharply declined or even ceased. This situation worsened with traffic congestion and crippled public transportation, hindering many patients with psychiatric disorders from accessing mental health services. Among them, patients with schizophrenia and related disorders were affected the most; some could not reach the hospitals and clinics they had regularly visited and had to become new patients of another hospital or clinic. Moreover, an increasing number of patients with schizophrenia needed to be hospitalized because of acute exacerbations of their disorder, due to the experience of the disaster and the consequent drastic changes in their living environment Unfortunately, the support system for psychiatric institutions after disasters is not yet well structured; the system needs to be rebuilt and strengthened in anticipation of future disasters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Hidekatsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shirasawa
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iwadate
authors.forename: Keizo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kodama
authors.forename: Shigehito
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rengi
authors.forename: Toshiyasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shingai
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kodaka
authors.forename: Nobuyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Ikki
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: Hiroo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D012066:Relief Work