title: What we can learn about recovery: lessons from the Fukushima survivors.
abstract: Recovery from disaster can take a lifetime, and people looking in from outside might not appreciate the stages of recovery. Little talked about is the stigma, which might attach to the survivors of a disaster, especially if it is a man-made disaster. This paper documents the account of a Japanese nursing student who visited the area 18 months after the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, talked to the people there, and shared her reflections. The experiences of the Fukushima survivors are linked to those of victims of other disasters, whose recovery was impeded by being discriminated against and stigmatized.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Ube, Japan.
authors.forename: Mayuko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tone
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D055884:Chemical Hazard Release / Q000523:psychology; D003448:Crying; D054597:Disaster Medicine / Q000592:standards; D055866:Earthquakes / Q000401:mortality; D060447:Emergency Shelter; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055848:Nuclear Power Plants; D015399:Nursing Research; D010781:Photography; D012924:Social Conditions; D063508:Social Discrimination / Q000523:psychology; D057545:Social Stigma; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D057192:Tsunamis; D035501:Uncertainty
keywords: Japan; disaster; mental health; nuclear accident; radiation; recovery; stigma