A role and necessity of a school pharmacist at the time of a disaster

In times of disaster, it is envisaged that many schools will serve as refuges, and it seems important that school pharmacists play their role as co-medical is in such refuges. Here, we investigated the role of school pharmacists as medical caregivers at the time of the Kobe earthquake and elucidated their future necessity by questionnaire intended for pharmacists and nurse-teachers. Although there was no attendance request for the school pharmacist from either school or pharmacist society at the time of the disaster, about 30% of school pharmacists acted voluntarily. Water investigation was the main subject for their activity. In addition, 58% of pharmacists and 82% of nurse-teachers recognized the necessity of the school pharmacist at the time of the disaster. Many of the activities were related to the normal activity as a conventional school pharmacist, although there was a request for mental healthcare to local inhabitants. Surprisingly, 31% of pharmacists considered that school pharmacists might not be of any assistance at the time of a disaster. It might be useful to prepare a manual so that school pharmacist could be active at the time of disasters in the future.