Tomoko Tachibana
National Institute of Public Health, Japan
Title: Improving regional information accessibility in terms of support for people who have difficulty communicating
Biography
Biography: Tomoko Tachibana
Abstract
Objectives: To identify issues arising in information infrastructure development towards improving information accessibility, that is, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, can easily obtain and use information necessary for everyone in a care-centered society. Methods: We conducted a symposium entitled “Building bridges in support of communication” during the course of the Comprehensive Research Project on Disabled Persons Policy. This symposium dealt with research related to effective support methods for information assurance among persons with communication difficulties, and through speeches and discussion, issues related to the improvement of regional information accessibility were identified. Results: These issues could be organized into the following themes: the “need for a revolution in awareness toward ‘the main concerned parties’ and for greater public awareness, including among health care workers and providers of health and welfare nursing services, of the various disability support services available to regional residents”; the “need for surveys and information on the views of the concerned parties”; “the promotion of sharing of pioneering approaches among local government authorities through construction of information sites”; and “the promotion of the construction of an integrated support system based on reasonable, efficient, and effective ‘equipment’, ‘people’, and ‘software’.”
Considerations: To promote the disability health and welfare policy, we have conducted research aimed at re-evaluating these policies from the perspective of trauma prognosis, in recent years. Considering the policy trends in recent years involving regional health care, medical treatment, welfare, and nursing for disabled persons, evidence-based disability health and welfare policy should be promoted for improving information accessibility. To achieve this goal, this article proposes the construction of a disability registry database, from the perspective of “clinical efficacy information,” which is the patient information related to the diagnosis, treatment process, treatment efficacy, etc. of patients examined and/or treated at all medical institutions in Japan