Emerging Occupational Health Needs at a Semiconductor Factory Following the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes: Evaluation of Effectiveness and Necessary Improvements of List of Postdisaster Occupational Health Needs.

Abstract

We sought to share our experiences with occupational health efforts at a manufacturing site after a large earthquake event, and to evaluate the effectiveness of our "List of Occupational Health Needs Following Disasters" (Needs List). We implemented occupational health efforts following the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan, with reference to the Needs List and a related manual, and analyzed the needs that arose. The instruments used enabled occupational health personnel to predict what needs would arise and facilitate their countermeasures. Among such needs that arose, 87.7% were in the Needs List, but seven undocumented needs were also observed. We confirmed that the Needs List could predict as many occupational health needs as we had expected at the disaster, though it is necessary to improve them by reflecting on our experiences.