International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

Researchers from Osaka University found that Japanese people who used medical information were more likely to wear masks and disinfect their hands even before the COVID-19 outbreak, while those who exchanged information with acquaintances were more likely to newly start mask-wearing and hand disinfection post outbreak. This will assist in the development of risk communication strategies to promote infection-preventive behavior in a timely manner.

A researcher from Osaka University has investigated the associations between mask usage and the reasons people give for wearing a mask. Online surveys were conducted before and after policies that downgraded the status of COVID-19. The study found that 59% of respondents continued wearing masks even after policy changes. Several sociological and psychological reasons other than disease prevention for mask usage were identified.

A study by Osaka University has shown that the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, which included hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and mental disorders, increased after the Fukushima disaster and the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings emphasize the importance of improving post-disaster health promotion strategies and recommendations.