Digital Psychological Support Systems for Post-Disaster Reconstruction in Japan: Empirical Study on the Effectiveness of the me-fullness® Application

Abstract

Introduction:

Asia is one of the regions most affected by natural disasters such as major typhoons. In Japan, recovery from natural disasters is said to take more than 10 years, and local government officials are primarily responsible for this recovery. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of the me-fullness® smartphone application in maintaining the well-being of local government employees involved in recovery efforts.

Method:

We conducted a survey of 35 employees of the town of Shichigahama, one of the areas affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale–21 Items (DASS-21) were used as survey instruments. 22 of the 35 employees used the me-fullness application on their smartphones for one month. During the month the application was in use, there was a heavy rain warning and an election for the House of Counselors, which the Shichigahama town employees had to cope with in parallel with the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Results:

The percentage of insomnia indicated by an AIS score of four or higher was 53.5% (7/13) before and 30.8% (4/13) after the use of the me-fullness application. The percentage of stress was 38.5% (5/13) before and 7.7% (1/13) after the use of the me-fullness application.

Conclusion:

This study showed that the me-fullness® application could improve the sleep and stress of local government employees and maintain their well-being for a long time during the recovery efforts.