Industry-government-academia collaboration to verify the effectiveness of ICT for sick child care business
Connected Industries, Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaki Sonoda), in collaboration with Yokosuka City (Infant and Child Care Facilities Division, Children's Development Department, Yokosuka City Hall) and the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, announced that it will promote and verify the effectiveness of BabyTech® Award Japan 2020 powered by DNP The city of Yokosuka (Yokosuka City Office, Infant and Child Care Facilities Division) and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Public Health in cooperation with BabyTech® Award Japan 2020 powered by DNP
Yokosuka City will be the first municipality in Japan to introduce "Azukaruko-chan" for the purpose of improving the utilization rate and convenience of sick child care, and will begin operating it at the Yokosuka Municipal Uwamachi Hospital Sick Child and Post-Illness Child Care Center from February 1, 2021 (Monday). In addition, the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo will verify the effectiveness of this ICT-assisted sick child care service, and industry-government-academia collaboration will be used to solve issues facing the child-rearing generation.
Sick child care in the palm of your hand. Azukaruko-chan, a support system for sick children
Azukaruko-chan" is a search and reservation service for sick child care facilities that connects parents and sick child care facilities. Parents can easily search for and reserve sick child care facilities anytime via LINE or the Web. For the staff at the facility, the service has the advantage of freeing them from complicated paperwork and allowing them to concentrate on childcare. Municipalities that introduce this service will be able to centrally manage information on all sick child care facilities in the community.
Azukaruko-chan" Web site
Yokosuka City to be a better place to live for the child-rearing generation
While the issue of children on waiting lists is being resolved, the most difficult thing for the child-rearing generation is "having to adjust their work schedule when their child suddenly becomes ill. Kanagawa Prefecture has a nationally low number of sick child care facilities for the population under 5 years old*, and Yokosuka City has a similar trend. In order to make the city more attractive to the child-rearing generation, "Azukaruko-chan" was introduced at the Yokosuka Municipal Uwamachi Hospital Sick Child and Post-Illness Child Care Center for the convenience of parents.
In addition, with the cooperation of the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, we aim to create a versatile childcare support system centered on sick child care by conducting appropriate evaluations.
Masaki Sonoda, "Prefectural Distribution of Municipal Consigned/Subsidized Sick Child Care Facilities and Company-led Sick Child Care Facilities," Sick Child Care Research No. 11, P.94~P.101 (2020)
Current utilization rate of sick child care / inconvenience of use
Two types of pins are displayed on the map of Azukaruko-chan. For contracted facilities, there are colored pins that show availability at a glance, and gray pins for non-contracted facilities. The colored pins indicate the availability of the facility in real time with a "◯", "△", or "×". Clicking on a colored pin (contracted facility) allows you to make a reservation directly.
For working parents, "Is there sick child care available today/tomorrow?" is an important decision-making factor for working parents. Azukaruko-chan" will strive to expand the number of facilities that offer this service so that parents can obtain reassurance as early as possible.
More Reliable and Convenient Childcare for Sick Children
Through this initiative, we will deliver peace of mind that sick child care, which until now has had an image of being difficult to use, is a business that can be "accessed whenever needed. First of all, we aim to double the number of people using the Yokosuka City Uwamachi Hospital Childcare Center for Sick Children and Post-Illness Children from the previous year, and we will make every effort to make Yokosuka City a model case for "creating a city that is easy to live in for the child-rearing generation" by using sick child care, and to expand the use of this service throughout Japan. In addition, based on the results of the effectiveness verification in the joint research, we will expand and renovate the service to make it more accessible to parents and staff of the sick child day care center. We look forward to your continued support.
Details of the effectiveness verification with the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
In collaboration with the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, we will verify the effectiveness of our service when it is introduced at the Yokosuka City Uwamachi Hospital Sick Child and Post-Illness Child Care Center. In the joint research, we will conduct a questionnaire survey of infants, children, and their guardians who applied to use our sick child care service between February 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022, and conduct observational research on how ICT-enabled sick child care will improve convenience for users, who are the child-rearing generation.
We will also analyze the increase in the number of users and the efficiency of service delivery to households raising children in the municipality.
The information obtained in this research will be anonymized in an appropriate manner and individuals will not be identified. The research will be conducted in compliance with the "Declaration of Helsinki" and the "Ethical Guidelines for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects".
Masaki Sonoda, "Prefectural Distribution of Municipal Consigned/Subsidized Sick Child Care Facilities and Company-led Sick Child Care Facilities," Sick Child Care Research No. 11, P.94~P.101 (2020)
Declaration of Helsinki (translated by the Japan Medical Association)
Ethical Guidelines for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects / Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Comments on this collaboration
Katsuaki Uechi, Mayor of Yokosuka City
Childcare services for sick children and children after illness are very reliable when a child is suddenly ill and cannot be cared for at home, leaving the child alone and distressed. The introduction of a reservation system will dramatically improve convenience for users by allowing them to make reservations from their smartphones and other devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
At the same time as the reservation system begins operation, industry, academia, and government will collaborate to conduct joint research on ICT through the introduction of the system.
We hope that the findings from this study will not only be useful in creating a system to further enhance the convenience of sick child and post-ill child care in Yokosuka City, but also be shared with other municipalities throughout Japan to contribute to the creation of a sick child and post-ill child care environment that is attentive to the wishes of the users.
Location: 11 Ogawa-cho, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yokosuka City" Web site
Professor Renki Kobayashi, Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
At the University, I am in charge of Public Health and Health Care Policy. In addition to teaching medical and graduate students, I am involved in research on a variety of health and medical issues.
Recent research findings include a hospitalization big data analysis that reported a downward trend in hospitalizations for asthma since March 2020. This result suggests that preventive actions against new coronas, such as hand washing, masks, and avoiding crowds, are also effective in preventing asthma. In addition, an international joint study of workers in Japan, South Korea, and eight European countries reported that while mortality rates decreased in almost all occupations in the 10 countries, in Japan there was an increase in mortality rates among managers, consistent with the economic recession that began in the late 1990s. This report was covered by many media outlets and caused a stir in the Japanese workforce.
Now, it is an urgent social issue in a society with a declining birthrate to support parents who are struggling to balance work and child rearing by utilizing information technology. It is necessary to gather the collective wisdom of not only the government, but also corporations and academic institutions to build a better system. We hope that this joint industry-government-academia research project by CI, Yokosuka City, and our laboratory will play a part in this effort.
Division of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo" Web site
Masaki Sonoda, President, Connected Industries, Inc.
Our company is working toward the realization of a society in which people can give birth and raise their children with peace of mind. The sick child care service is a solution for parents who have trouble dealing with their children's sudden illnesses, but unfortunately, the hurdles to using this service are high. The sick child care service is a governmental childcare support program. By working together with Yokosuka City, we hope to create a system that will benefit all guardians, facility staff, and local government officials. We are also very pleased to be able to verify through joint research with the University of Tokyo whether ICT can really be effective. We will make every effort to realize an environment that provides better childcare support for the citizens of Yokosuka.
The full text of the three parties' comments was released on January 19 on the "Yokosuka City Official Youtube Channel.
Please see also.
Yokosuka City Official Youtube Channel
