2021 Volume 70 Issue 5 Pages 488-494
In recent years, disasters on a catastrophic scale have tended to occur more frequently. In addition to the severely injured, who require advanced emergency medical treatment, individuals who require prompt support from the hyper-acute stage after a disaster include those who are treated at home, such as patients with intractable diseases who wear advanced medical equipment such as ventilators.
The Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred in 2011, resulted in the largest scale of damage to occur in Japan since the war. Based on the verification of this disaster, the Basic Act on Disaster Control Measures was partially amended (June 2013) to make it compulsory to create a list of persons who require support for evacuation actions (Article 49-10 of the Basic Act on Disaster Control Measures). In addition, many of the victims of the disasters that have occurred frequently thereafter have been among the elderly and the disabled, suggesting the need for further disaster prevention measures for persons with handicaps. In May 2021, the Basic Act on Disaster Control Measures was partially amended to make it mandatory for municipalities to prepare individual evacuation plans for each person requiring evacuation action. In addition, provisions were newly established for the use of personal information, as well as the provision of information on the use of individual evacuation plans to evacuation support personnel and other related parties during normal times and in the event of a disaster, which are necessary for the preparation of individual evacuation plans, in line with the Personal Information Protection Ordinance.
Roughly eight years have passed since it became compulsory to create a list of persons who need support for evacuation, and all municipalities in Japan, including those in the process of creating this list, are engaged in related efforts. However, only about 10% of municipalities have created individual plans, thus far. Furthermore, the percentage of patients with intractable diseases on the list currently stands at roughly 60%.
This paper summarizes the changes in national disaster prevention measures for persons who require consideration during disasters, and the issues in disaster prevention measures for people with intractable diseases at home, from the perspective of maintaining the dignity of persons at home with intractable diseases and their families, and enabling them to live in their communities with peace of mind.
