Usefulness of Simple Meal Screening Using Dietary Assessment Sheets for Evacuation Shelters

To maintain the health of evacuees, meals provided at emergency shelters should be monitored and improvement measures should be taken where necessary. Time and human resources are limited during devastating disasters; thus, the authors have developed the Dietary Assessment Sheets for Evacuation Shelters. This study examines whether the quality of meals can be assessed using simple check items on the Dietary Assessment Sheets.

A total of 28 Dietary Assessment Sheets for 98 meals provided 16-19 days after the heavy rains in Kumamoto in July 2020 at 12 shelters were used in the analysis. Dietitians working for shelters were requested to fill the Dietary Assessment Sheets and food record sheets provided by the Prefectural Government. If any subitem was checkmarked, it was considered "checked," and if left blank, it was considered "not checked" and divided into categorical groups. Based on the food record sheets and meal photos, contents of energy, protein, and vitamins B₁, B₂, and C were calculated for each meal. Energy and nutrient contents were compared between the categorical groups.

The study revealed that nutritionally poor meals were characterized as those comprising only "Grain dishes," those that were not "Boxed meals," and those involving "Self-Defense Forces," "Dietitians," or "Others." Their energy, protein, and vitamin B₁, B₂, and C content was significantly lower than that of meals with marks on other checkboxes in the same category.

Shelters that provide these meals should be given priority for nutrition assistance due to their poor diets. The results imply that the Dietary Assessment Sheets could serve as a simple tool to determine the shelters that require nutritional assistance.