How differently we should prepare for the next disaster?

Abstract

Following the Great East Japan earthquake (the Big Quake) that hit the northeastern parts of Japan on March 11, 2011, aid was dispatched from multiple levels of organizations including the Japanese Nurses Association (JNA). Evidence indicates that the JNA did not play an effective role in the aid efforts, since the professional organization had pulled out and stopped sending nursing personnel from the end of April 2011. In view of the way that things were handled in terms of aid efforts immediately, a year, or two years after the Big Quake occurred, the authors of this paper have identified issues related to nurse's role at the time of the disaster. By looking back at what happened, we have gained insights into how to prepare for future disasters. © 2014 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.