Changes in hydrological behaviours triggered by earthquake disturbance in a mountainous watershed

Application of health self-management intervention program for metabolic syndrome patients in the bereaved population following the Wenchuan earthquake

Background

The destructive Wenchuan earthquake has led to approximately 800,000 people being bereaved. In the previous cross-sectional study, we explored the long-term incidence of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) and studied its influencing factors among the bereaved population 12 years after the Wenchuan earthquake. Chronic disease self-management has become a recognized public health service. Studies have shown that demographic and genetic factors, stress, geographical environment, society, culture, dietary habits, lifestyle, and other aspects influence MS. Due to the Wenchuan earthquake being a serious stress event, the implementation of targeted interventions should be discussed further.

Objectives

To verify the effect of applying a self-management intervention program for patients with MS among the bereaved population following the Wenchuan earthquake.

Design

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) design was adopted.

Participants

A total of 132 bereaved patients with MS following the Wenchuan earthquake constituted the sample.

Methods

The study was based on the Cognitive-Phenomenological-Transaction, Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, and Patient Empowerment Conceptual Model, which combined with the latest evidence-based guidelines, were used to systematically evaluate cross-sectional results of this study that were used to construct a stress management-based health self-management intervention program and MS health self-management manual for bereaved patients with MS following the Wenchuan earthquake. In addition, we revised and completed a health self-management intervention program and health self-management manual for patients with MS by using the expert consultation method. General data were collected prior to intervention (T0). We collected the patients' MS disease-related physiological indicators before intervention (T0), after intervention (T1), and 2 months after intervention (T2). EipData3.1 software was used to input data in duplex and duplicate, and SPSS22.0 software was used for statistical analysis.

Results

The variance analysis showed that the total score of healthy self-management behavior and the score of diet management, exercise management, drug management, and emotional management have intergroup effects, time effects, and group-time interaction effects (p < 0.05). When the differences between groups were further compared, we found that the total score and the score of six dimensions (excluding disease self-monitoring management) were higher than those of the control groups at T1 and T2, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The intervention program of healthy self-management for patients with MS who come from bereaved families following the Wenchuan earthquake can effectively improve patients' health self-management behaviors.

Analysis of Changes in Land Use/Land Cover and Hydrological Processes Caused by Earthquakes in the Atsuma River Basin in Japan

The 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake and its landslides threaten the safety and stability of the Atsuma River basin. This study investigates land use and land cover (LULC) change by analyzing the 2015 and 2020 LULC maps of the basin, and its impact on runoff and sediment transport in the basin by using the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model to accurately simulate the runoff and sediment transport process. This study finds that the earthquake and landslide transformed nearly 10% of the forest into bare land in the basin. The simulation results showed that the runoff, which was simulated based on the 2020 LULC data, was slightly higher than that based on the 2015 LULC data, and the sediment transport after the earthquake is significantly higher than before. The rate of sediment transportation after the earthquake, adjusted according to the runoff, was about 3.42 times more than before. This shows that as the forest land decreased, the bare land increased. Conversely, the runoff increased slightly, whereas the sediment transport rate increased significantly in the Atsuma River basin after the earthquake. In future, active governance activities performed by humans can reduce the amount of sediment transport in the basin.