A Mixed Methods Analysis of Medical Needs Following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake: Bridging the Gap Between Digital...

Introduction The chronological shift in medical needs following major seismic events, particularly the exhaustion of local responders, remains under-researched. While acute physical damage is often well documented, the subacute phase presents unique challenges that are difficult to capture through traditional surveillance. Objective This study aimed to analyze medical needs operationally defined as thematic content derived from professional narratives, following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, and to triangulate these qualitative insights with temporal trends in digital discourse by conducting a mixed-methods analysis of digital narratives found in YouTube videos. Methods An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was used. In the first (qualitative) phase, thematic analysis was conducted on 12 YouTube videos featuring medical professionals to extract in-depth experiences using MAXQDA 2024 (VERBI Software, Berlin, Germany). In the second (quantitative) phase, to examine the temporal prevalence of the identified themes, a trend analysis was performed on 300 videos uploaded between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Using the YouTube Data API, data were collected chronologically to visualize the monthly distribution of needs. Results The qualitative analysis identified three themes: (1) acute material shortages, (2) mid-to long-term shelter hygiene/mental health, and (3) exhaustion of local staff. The quantitative triangulation revealed a distinct temporal lag: while infrastructure-related content peaked in January (20 videos), content related to "Staff Support" (theme three) peaked in February (38 videos), one month after the earthquake. Conclusion This study quantitatively triangulated the "February Peak," a phenomenon in which local staff burnout peaks exactly when external support begins to wane. Future disaster plans must include explicit protocols for mandatory rest and the deployment of relief teams targeting the subacute phase (one to two months post-disaster).