Exposure to stress and psychosocial impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on French Nationals who were in Japan in March 2011 - A qualitative study

The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011 was followed by a nuclear accident. This study aim to identify the exposure to stress, the psychosocial impact and information need of the French Nationals who were in Japan at this time as well as the care they were looking for. A qualitative study based on 10 semi-structured interviews of French nationals was carried out between June and October 2013. They were chosen among the French who answered to the registry launched by the InVS considering the importance of the event. The interviews were face to face (7 in France, 2 in Japan) except for one in Japan that was performed by videoconference. This study confirms the impact of this disaster on real life experience. Some interviewed relate anxious and thymic manifestations or impacts on personality that might lead to seek care, even two years after the events. Beyond stress factors usually linked to natural disaster, this study showed that the issue of information was considerable, in particular about nuclear contamination that makes the feeling of worrying long lasting. Living abroad is a specificity that modifies the experience of such extreme events. This experience influenced the life-course of the exposed. These results will be useful for future post-disaster epidemiological studies. They plaid also for registering involved people as well as preparing appropriate and sustained information and mental health screening which allows people to stay active in their choices and decisions. (authors)