title: Responding to a radiological crisis: experiences of British foreign office staff in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify factors that affected well-being among British embassy staff based in Japan after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 36 members of staff 8 to 9 months after the earthquake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants described their crisis work as stressful, exciting, and something of which they were proud. Aside from disaster-specific stressors, factors identified as stressful included unclear roles, handing over work to new personnel, being assigned to office-based work, feeling that work was not immediately beneficial to the public, not taking good-quality breaks, and difficulties with relatives. The radiation risk provoked mixed feelings, with most participants being reassured by contact with senior scientists.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interventions to safeguard the well-being of personnel during crisis work must consider the impact of a broad range of stressors.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-7).
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychological Medicine,King's College London,England.
authors.forename: Savita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakhshi
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychological Medicine,King's College London,England.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lynn-Nicholson
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychological Medicine,King's College London,England.
authors.forename: Bryony
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: 3Public Health England,Emergency Response Department,London,England.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Amlôt
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychological Medicine,King's College London,England.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychological Medicine,King's College London,England.
authors.forename: G James
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Rubin
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom