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Introduction In December 2017, a workshop was held for foreign and Japanese residents to learn about the prevention of health problems in the time of disaster. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey conducted at the workshop, focusing on a disaster-preparedness education and support for foreigners living in Japan. Methods The workshop participants were asked about their knowledge of health problems in the time of disasters and their experiences with health counseling. Results Data were obtained from 25 of the 48 workshop participants. Almost half of the respondents indicated that they understood the potential mental and physical health problems in the time of disaster. Foreign participants were able to grasp the medical system at the evacuation shelters in Japan, and were able to learn about diseases, especially with regards to being aware of their own health condition. Regarding health maintenance at evacuation shelters, participants indicated their need for physical and mental health support, as well as more information and sharing. Conclusions Foreign participants emphasized their need for support regarding physical and mental aspects. This was informed by their experiences of living in an evacuation shelter and the workshop lecture, which facilitated a greater understanding of how everyday life would be affected after the disaster. The participants described challenges related to their own health, as well as language challenges in their experiences of health counseling. Since foreigners tend to hesitate when consulting others about language concerns, it is necessary to clarify the workings of support and medical care systems at evacuation shelters. In addition, frequently used medical terms and health guidance contents need to be presented in more than one language to lessen foreign residents’ anxiety during-the disaster.
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Even if foreign residents have no trouble speaking Japanese in their daily lives, they do not always understand the language spoken in hospitals. This is because they face many barriers other than language, such as unfamiliar medical terminology, difficulty concentrating due to illness, tensions caused by the unusual hospital environment, and differences in the medical system, customs and culture. We believe that the presence of a medical interpreter will lead to better communication between doctors and patients at initial consultations, when announcements are made, when explanations of treatment are made, when rapport is established, and when the patient’s complaints need to be fully listened to. As a medical interpreter who supports foreign patients in the medical field, I would like to offer some suggestions to medical professionals who encounter foreign patients in clinical settings.
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While the number of foreign residents in Japan is increasing, it is desired that opportunities that healthcare professionals learn about “specific difficulties foreign residents have” and “communication between foreigners” are to be increased. Especially, it is effective that healthcare professionals know about the presence of “Yasashii Nihongo” and practice it in the communication between foreign residents.
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Objectives To describe the current situation regarding the medical information provided for foreign residents by the official websites of cities and municipalities in Aichi Prefecture and to investigate associations between the characteristics of each city/municipality and their provision of online medical informationMethods Using a checklist of 24 items, the official websites of all 54 cities and municipalities (hereafter local governments) in Aichi Prefecture were checked. Each item was descriptively summarized. Associations between three selected items and local government characteristics were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test.Results The official websites of 49 local governments (90.7%) were translated into at least one foreign language. An automatic translation system was used by 43 websites (79.6%). Information on emergency medicine was translated into at least one foreign language on 45 websites (83.3%), child health checkups on 44 websites (81.5%), and adult health checkups on 42 websites (77.8%). However, only eight local governments (14.8%) provided information on where child health checkups were available, and 23 (42.6%) translated a list of medical facilities where adult health checkups were available. The provision of a link to the Aichi Medical Information System was significantly associated with the size of the local government and the number of foreigners. Ten (76.9%) out of 13 local governments categorized in the highest quartile for proportion of foreigners had not translated the list of medical facilities for adult health checkup.Conclusion Many local governments rely on the automatic translation system, which does not have the capacity to manage all the information accurately. Compared to information on emergency care, access to information on child health checkups and adult health checkups, which will be increasingly needed in the future, was poor and limited. An external website for shared use was not fully utilized, in particular, by smaller local governments.
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Objectives This study investigated the use of In-home services of the Public Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance System by foreign residents in Osaka city to serve this population better.Methods Using information from the WAMNET database, questionnaires were sent to 1,800 care managers (CMs) affiliated with 1,106 In-home Care Support Office and Community General Support Centers in Osaka city (1-4 CMs/site), and collected between February and early March 2011. The data collected were analyzed quantitatively, focusing on descriptive statistics. And fisher’s exact tests were used to evaluate the relationship between the Japanese communication skills and age, sex, and family structure.Results We obtained answers from 460 CMs (collection rate 25.6%). The total number of foreign residents covered under the service by CMs was 590, and we analyzed the valid data of 312 foreign user’s information. Home-Visit LTC and Day Care for LTC were most frequently used. 34.3% of CMs had difficulty communicating in Japanese, there was a higher proportion of people who had difficulty in communication with older age group (p<0.05), and noticed that nearly 60% faced economic hardship. Conclusion Our results suggest that careful communication is required with older age groups. This indicates that there may be difficulties in communication and understanding the clients’ needs, which are necessary to create care plan and to ensure optimal utilization of the services. And it is possible to reduce the service required user charge due to the insufficient economic status. The support system should be strengthened to address communication and economic difficulties faced by foreign users of In-home services, from the standpoint of the service fairness.
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[Introduction]The number of foreign residents in Japan reached 1.7%of the national population at the end of 2010, and currently the number of foreign permanent residents is increasing. Althogh this “domestic globalization”has been in progress for some time, the health status and needs of foreign residents for acupuncture treatment are not known to acupuncture practitioners in Japan. The purpose of this study is to reveal the proportion of potential demand for acupuncture by examining the consultation records for medical informations from foreigners living in Japan.<BR>[Method]From all the records of telephone consultation for medical information by foreign residents from all over the country to AMDA International Medical Information Center in 2010, we extracted the consultations associated with acupuncture.<BR>[Results]Among a total of 2,172 consultations, 6calls were associated with acupuncture (0.3%). Most of the foreign residents who made these consultations were from South America. 4calls were requests for information about acupuncture clinics from foreigners suffering from orthopedic disease or symptoms (66.7%). With respect to the consultion languages, 4consulters accepted inquiries in Japanese (66.7%).<BR>[Discussion]Foreign residents who expect acupuncture treatment are not common, but it became obvious that some foreigners have difficulty finding acupuncture clinics and information in Japan. There were some cases that should have been applicable to acupuncture, but were instead directed to other diagnosis departments or hospitals. One reason for this consequence seems to be the lack of information among foreign residents about the indications and therapeutic effects of acupuncture. Considering the influx of foreigners and the aging of foreign residents, the possibility of foreigners reciving acupuncture treatment may be developed by appropriate distribution of information.
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<B>OBJECTIVE:</B><br>This study aims to examine the awareness and ability of health care providers to cope with language barriers at medical facilities in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and to clarify the issues concerning health care for foreigners.<br><B>METHODS:</B><br>In total, 2100 copies of self-report questionnaires on issues of health care for foreigners were mailed to health care providers of 352 hospitals in Hyogo. The survey was conducted from February to March 2010.<br><B>RESULTS:</B><br>The response rate of medical facilities was 21.6% (76/352), whereas that of the health care providers was 15.2% (320/2100). Approximately 10% hospitals handled foreign patients at least once per month, and they dealt with patients using several languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, and others. The providers' main issue was communication with their foreign patients. The documents and booklets for guidance regarding some health care procedures at the hospitals were also poorly prepared. It is therefore exceedingly necessary for hospitals to provide common documents in different languages; moreover, the government or local authorities should arrange for public medical interpretation services.<br><B>DISCUSSION:</B><br>Medical facilities in Hyogo have been struggling to improve their linguistic capabilities, and it is difficult to indicate whether public organizations concerned with medical interpretation are being recognized. Efforts on the part of medical facilities and local and national governments, as well as cooperation of nonprofit organizations, are immensely essential to resolve the issue of multilingual health care. This survey suggests that to help people with diverse languages, the health care system in Japan should be improved rapidly, particularly with regard to the establishment of licensed professional medical interpreters.
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Objectives: To examine perceptions of nursing care for foreign patients in the ward and operating room (OR) and to clarify incidents and difficulties in nursing care.<br>Methods: Fifty-five obstetric and gynecological ward nurses and 13 OR nurses were contacted in writing and asked to participate in a self-administered questionnaire to clarify their perceptions of nursing care for foreign patients.<br>Results: The response rates for ward nurses and OR nurses were 65% (n=36) and 77% (n=10) respectively. One hundred percent of nurses with experience of foreign patient care stated that they had difficulties with language, cultural differences, the medical system, and financial problems. Incidents resulting from the nursing care included: not following instructions not to take food/drink, walking too soon, and missing their clinical follow-up appointment after discharge.<br>Conclusions: This research showed major difficulties with perioperative nursing care for foreign patients. These difficulties may have occurred as a result of issues such as language, differences in culture and the health care system. Difficulty with nursing care for foreign patients sometimes causes incidents. It is recommended that the barriers between non-Japanese patients and the medical staff are rectified in the perioperative period, when mutual understanding is important.
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<B>Introduction</B><BR>Recently, an increasing number of registered foreigners get married and bear children in Japan. At the same time, a variety of needs for maternal and child health (MCH) impose burden for medical practitioners. A questionnaire survey was conducted to clarify the situation of MCH service for foreign residents.<BR><B>Method</B><BR>Self-report questionnaires developed by “The study group for MCH in a multiethnic and multicultural society” were sent by mail to the pediatricians registered in the Gunma medical association or Gunma pediatric association. In total, target number was 299. The survey period was between 2003/10/6-11/3.<BR><B>Result</B><BR>The number of valid response was 167. Out of 167, 155 doctors replied to have experience of caring foreigners. 75% of them had the experience of trouble in communication. For the question of the need of translator, 76.8% of doctors answered “absolutely necessary” or “necessary if the quality of translation is high enough”. Desired competencies for translators were “Accurate translation of diagnosis, hands on of treatment strategy” or “To help taking detailed patient's history”.<BR>For the experience of using MCH handbook in foreign languages, 52.9% of doctors answered “Never used it”.<BR><B>Discussion</B><BR>We found that the majority of doctors had difficulty in communicating with foreigners.<BR>To meet the doctors' requirement for the competency of translator, two strategies should be considered. One is to develop professional medical translator through education of basic medical knowledge or Japan's health care system. The other is to train foreigners already engaging in translation.<BR>For communication tools development, user friendly concept should be reflected including 1) adscript of foreign and Japanese languages, 2) illustration usage and 3) eye-friendly materials for elderly. Contents should have explanations including 1) diagnosis and treatment policy for common disease, 2) ways of coping with common symptoms, and 3) the information of a variety of Japan's welfare services.
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The purpose of this inductive study was to clarify the process of building relationships between foreign patients, who are residents in Japan, with diverse cultural backgrounds and nurses who have cared for hospitalized foreign patients within the past year. Data collection was conducted through semi-structured interviews of eleven Japanese nurses. Analysis of data used the grounded theory methodology. <br> The results of the analysis revealed the following core components of the relationship building process: [Intention to provide appropriate nursing care for foreign patients], [Intention to understand foreign patients’ diverse backgrounds from the perspective of one’s own culture], [Indecision regarding relationships with foreign patients], and [Compromises between nurses and foreign patients]. Furthermore, 25 categories and 110 subcategories of these components were identified.<br> The most important feature of the process of building relationships between foreign patients and nurses was that nurses requested that foreign patients have the same role as Japanese patients<br> Subsequently, the nurses became aware of the differences between their own culture and foreign patients’ diverse cultural backgrounds. Consequently, the nurses had made progress in increasing their awareness of cultural differences.<br> The present results suggest the importance of facilitating Japanese nurses’ recognition of the existence of cultural difference, and improving the process of compromising with accepted cultural difference.
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<b>Introduction</b><br> Recently, foreign residents' difficulties using the Japanese medical system are being acknowledged. This study investigates the case of the medical intake forms, <i>monshinhyo</i>, that new patients at Japanese medical facilities must complete.Many patients, especially non-native ones, find them difficult.<br><b>Method</b><br> First, 6 foreign and 6 Japanese students (hereafter, FS and JS) at 4-year universities were interviewed regarding their understanding of <i>monshinhyo</i> taken from three different departments -obstetrical, surgical, and internal medicine - at a hospital in Kansai; then, a questionnaire was developed and given to 25 FS and 85 JS.<br><b>Results</b><br> Both FS and JS noted language problems. JS could pronounce medical terms better than FS but comprehended them only about as well as FS. Moreover, both FS and JS found the styles, layouts, and purposes of some questions unclear, and they sometimes had to guess the details of what <i>monshinhyo</i> requested. These included questions involving symptoms, divisions of medical departments, and semantic range of terms for blood relations. Also, medical practices/norms not found in the native country sometimes puzzled FS.<br><b>Conclusions</b><br> Problems with <i>monshinhyo</i> arise from <i>both</i> the patients' side-Japanese as well as foreign-due to limited medical-related vocabulary/kanji and/or a lack of experience using Japanese medical services, <i>and</i> the <i>monshinhyo</i> themselves, due to their inclusion of unclear questions and ambiguous expressions. Probably, <i>monshinhyo's</i> authors' familiarity with medical terms and the Japanese medical system caused them to take for granted more knowledge than many patients actually have. To improve medical services, therefore, we suggest reexamining and reorganizing questions that already exist, introducing multiple choice and yes/no questions when possible, and providing <i>furigana</i> for <i>kanji</i>. Fundamentally, throughout the medical system, patients should be able to understand all the language they encounter. Clarifying the language, cultural assumptions, and purpose(s) of <i>monshinhyo</i> is a good starting point.
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Kani city, Gifu is yet a typical small local town of 100,000 populations but has Japanese Brazilian and Filipino increased recently and shares 7% of total population that is a foreigner residing town.<br> The foreigner residing towns to be called are facing similar several issues at every place. The working and educational environment for the people as the migrant worker from Central and South America and their health condition which is the most important became worsen.<br> 4 years ago in Kani city, we made a survey for the educational environment of the children of foreigners for 2 years period, which was reported in public and gained favorable evaluation from several sectors.<br> Nowadays we are promoting to assure their social status who live in the local community. They are working as same as Japanese, and sometime to do the job that Japanese would not, but it seems that they are ignored on their treatment in the social life. If they spoil their own health, their life planning may cause a serious problem. Once they dropout, they may not have any chance to recover themselves. This means the “healthy condition” of the local society will be damaged before long. Therefore, we started the foreign nationality citizen's committee where we can maintain not only the individual health but also to be healthy local society from the concept that the foreign residents would not rely on the local society but they act themselves as the citizen and the local residents to participate with the local activities so that they can enjoy their independency, health, pleasure and hope.
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There are about 2 million foreigners living in Japan, a country known by its outstanding health indicators. However, when it comes to foreign residents, differences in access to health care arise. It is known that the language barrier plays an important role in preventing and delaying access to care. The purpose of this communication is to bring to discussion some selected cases that stand the need for medical interpretation policies that ensure foreign residents their right to access health care with equity and medical interpreters the sufficient conditions to perform their roles.
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<b>Introduction</b><br> The era of “International Migration” has arrived in Japan, where communities are becoming multicultural and multiethnic. We cannot talk about the Japanese society without mentioning the coexistence that brings the symbiosis of different people. It has become obvious that diverse people of different races, nationalities, backgrounds, cultures and languages have to live altogether in mutual respect. At this point, when we think of “Medical health care for foreign residents”, we ought to first think that without a sound, harmonious community, there is no way to secure the health of foreign residents. In the materialization of a multicultural society it can be said that the medical health care of foreign residents is absolutely necessary, as indispensable as soil is for plants.<br><b>Objectives</b><br> This workshop intends to answer to the following questions: What is the appropriate social framework for foreign residents and citizens to live safely and securely? What kind of medical health care system would allow foreign residents to exert their right to health? from different points of view and a discussion with the participation of all the attendants.<br><b>Contents</b><br> Ms. Y. Kojima will speak on the problems of foreign children school unattendance, concrete support and policy building to solve the problem. Mr. Y. Nakamura will make a presentation on how a sound society should be considering community multiculturalism and the dramatic speed at which Japanese society is facing internationalization. Ms. L. Herrera will speak about the medical interpretation problem. Mr. R. Khaled will address the topic of the health needs of foreign residents' medical health care from his experience in the field. Mr. D. Arudo, author of “Japanese Only-The Otaru Hot Springs Case and Racial Discrimination in Japan” (Akashi Bookstore 2003) will talk about the reality of the internationalization in Japan from his own experience, a topic to which he has devoted many years. We will listen to the meaning of living as a foreign resident in the community. In addition, we have asked Mr. T. Sawada to appoint any questions from the floor. This workshop approaches diversity and decision in the Japanese society, aiming to contribute to a society which is kind to all its members. We are looking forward to your attendance.
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The purpose of clarifying a foreign resident's in Japan healthy problem and a health care subject was carried out, and foreigner demographic statistics and vitalstatistics were analyzed. The following things became clear.<br>From the second half of the 1980 th generation, foreign-resident-in-Japan population and international marriage were increased rapidly, and many race-nization in Japan was progressing.<br>The people population from Brazil was concentrated on 30 years-old cost from 20 years-old cost, and the population of the less than 15-year-old child born in Japan was increasing every year. Moreover, ”the sickness and wound and the external cause of death” which are occupied to the total number of death were high.<br>The Korean resident in Japan formed 80 percent of the 65 or older-year foreigner registration person. The three major causes of death of Korean are malignant neoplasms (cancer), heart diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. It was similar with the Japanese death trend. Suicide of a persons-of-middle-or-advanced-age male was increasing like the Japanese male.<br>A foreign resident's in Japan healthy subject is roughly classified into three. There is a geriatric health problem about a Korean resident in Japan. In recent years, about the foreigner who immigrated to Japan, there is a problem of mother-and-child health and labor health. And to all foreigners, there is a problem of the mental health resulting from migration, foreign culture, and the minority.<br>The health care corresponding to internationalization is called for also in Japan.