Empowering Children as Agents of Change to Foster Resilience in Community: Implementing “Creative Health” in Primary Schools after the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

Aya Goto, Alison Lloyd Williams, Satoko Okabe, Yohei Koyama, Chihaya Koriyama, Michio Murakami, Yumiya Yui and Kenneth E. Nollet
Additional contact information
Aya Goto: Center for Integrated Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Alison Lloyd Williams: Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YW, UK
Satoko Okabe: Department of Food and Nutrition, Koriyama Women’s University, Fukushima 963-8503, Japan
Yohei Koyama: Center for Integrated Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Chihaya Koriyama: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan
Michio Murakami: Department of Health Risk Communication, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Yumiya Yui: Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Kenneth E. Nollet: Department of Blood Transfusion and Transplantation Immunology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The “Creative Heath” project, a participatory school activity to foster community resilience, was implemented in Fukushima, Japan, and children’s experiences of the project were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The project consists of three workshops: BODY, FOOD, and ACT, with activities to facilitate students’ scientific and creative thinking, working in teams, presenting, and expressing their opinions. The first two schools participated with 105 students aged 9–11 years old. Before and after each workshop, students were given questionnaires to rate their satisfaction with their own health (BODY), local foods (FOOD), and the community at large (ACT) on a five-level scale, with space to add free comments. Ratings for BODY and FOOD changed significantly, and the proportion of students who increased their rating of an evaluation indicator after each workshop was 25% for BODY, 28% for FOOD, and 25% for ACT. Text analysis of free comments showed that students in the “increased” group appreciated presenting, measuring, learning connections between nutrition and health, and working collaboratively with peers. Children perceived their health and the foods in their community more positively after participating. Moreover, the Creative Health project could be a way to enhance children’s creativity and autonomy as agents of change in the community.

Keywords: children; Fukushima nuclear accident; humanities; arts; community networks; resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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