Trends in Emergency Preparedness Activities Taken by Participatory Workplace Improvement Programs

Emergency preparedness actions conducted through participatory programs for improving working environment of local government workers in a district of a prefecture were analyzed. Modified versions of the mental health action checklist listing locally feasible types of improvements were used for proposing potential improvements. Common types of achieved improvements and their relation to emergency preparedness were analyzed. The majority of 348 improvements reported in five years from 2014 to 2018 concerned work methods and physical environment factors. Nearly 30% of these improvements addressed communication measures for sharing information or mutually supporting co-workers. Emergency preparedness actions accounted for about 5%. In each year, participating workplaces often implemented two or more improvements, and emergency preparedness actions tended to be taken in combination with improved communication measures. These results confirmed that adequate emergency responses could be facilitated through group discussions utilizing locally adjusted action checklists covering communication-related improvements. It was suggested important for enhancing emergency preparedness to organize dialog-based participatory steps assisted by action checklists indicating locally appropriate responses extending to workplace-level communication measures.