Developing a disaster reduction education program for foreign residents

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K17417
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fundamental nursing
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University (2019-2020); International University of Health and Welfare (2017-2018)
• Principal Investigator: MINAMIJIMA Rika 長崎大学, 医歯薬学総合研究科(保健学科), 助教 (10783764)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 減災教育 / 在留外国人

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The health literacy challenges of foreign victims were classified into six categories: “Limited information resources,” “Limited Japanese proficiency,” “Insufficient materials to judge whether information related to natural disasters is reliable,” “Surviving a critical situation,” “Risk of compromised human dignity,” and “Risk of social isolation.” The factors impacting support workers were classified into three categories: “Impossibility of dealing with an emergency under the ordinary business structure,” “Difficulty in health management for support workers,” and “Difficulty in discovering ways to perform disaster relief operations.” In addition, factors related to the environmental effects of a disaster were classified into two categories: “Inclusion and diversity” and “Improvement of emergency hotline system.”

Free Research Field

健康科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

被災した在留外国人の災害に関連するヘルスリテラシ－における課題の背景には，母国における被災経験が無いことや，災害に関連する概念を知らないことが示唆された．有事に適切な避難行動をとるためには，言葉の意味を理解するのみならず，言葉から適切なリスク事象を連想し行動レベルで想起することが求められる．在留外国人に対して，日本の災害文化を理解し，適切に対処できるよう実践的な減災教育を提供する機会が必要であることが示唆された．