For working parents, information such as "Is there a sick child care service available today/tomorrow? is an important factor in deciding what to do immediately afterwards. Azukaruko-chan will strive to expand the number of facilities that offer this service so that parents can find peace of mind as early as possible.
Making childcare for sick children safer and more convenient
Through this initiative, Yokosuka City will provide peace of mind by making its sick child daycare services, which until now have had an image of being difficult to use, "accessible whenever necessary. First of all, we aim to double the use of the Yokosuka City Uwamachi Hospital Center for Childcare of Sick and Post-Sick Children compared to the previous year, and we will make every effort to make Yokosuka City a model case for "creating a city that is easy for the child-rearing generation to live in" using childcare for sick children, and to expand the use of this center nationwide. In addition, with the results of the verification of the effects of the joint research, we will expand and improve the service so that it will be easier to use for parents and the staff of the nursery for sick children. We look forward to your continued support.
Details of the implementation of the effectiveness verification with the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo
In introducing our service at the Yokosuka Uwamachi Hospital Sick Child and Post-Illness Childcare Centre, we will conduct a verification of its effectiveness in collaboration with the Department of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo. In the joint research, we will conduct a questionnaire survey of infants, children and their guardians who applied to use the sick child care service between 1 February 2021 and 31 January 2022, and conduct observational research on the improvement in convenience for users who are of child-rearing age as a result of the introduction of ICT for sick child care.
The increase in the number of users and the efficiency of service provision to child-care households in local authorities will also be analysed.
The information obtained in this study will be anonymized in an appropriate manner, and no individual will be identified. In addition, 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 Commissioned/Subsidised 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 for sick children and children after illness is 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 those who use the service by enabling reservations to be made from smartphones and other devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
At the same time as the reservation system starts operating, joint research will be conducted on ICT through the introduction of the system, in collaboration with industry, academia and government.
We hope that the findings from this research will not only be useful in creating a system to further improve the convenience of sick and post-sick childcare in Yokosuka City, but will also be shared with other municipalities across the country, contributing to the construction of a sick and post-sick childcare environment that is attuned to the wishes of the users.
Location: 11 Ogawa-cho, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yokosuka City website
