Introduction: Following natural disasters, specialized health, medical, and welfare teams are deployed to affected areas to support the affected population. It is crucial to manage the health of affected individuals, but also that of the responders. It has been suggested that responders’ performance declines when they experience physical or mental health issues, highlighting the need for comprehensive health management, including environmental factors. This study aimed to examine the association between responders’ activity environments and their performance using the Responders Health Management ver. of the Japan-Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED). Methods: This study targeted health, medical, and welfare responders involved in the response to the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024. Data were collected via the Responders Health Management ver. of J-SPEED from January 6 to March 31, 2024. We analyzed the association between responders’ activity environments and their performance during the acute (January) and subacute (February – March) phases. Results: Several activity environment factors were significantly associated with lower performance throughout the study period, including “Unclear organization and chain of command”, “Difficulty in ensuring a safe activity environment”, and “Lack of meals and breaks”. During the acute phase, “Activities at headquarters” was a significant factor associated with lower performance, while in the subacute phase, “Lack of infection protection equipment” was a significant factor. Conclusion: This study found phase-specific factors associated with lower performance in disaster relief responders. These findings suggest the need to consider phase-specific responses when developing future health care strategies for responders.
Ogawa et al. (Sun,) studied this question.