Regional health activities and human resource development, including responses to increasingly frequent and severe health crisis incidents

Abstract

In recent years, natural disasters have become more severe and frequent, and the risk of disasters capable of causing extensive damage continues to rise in all regions of the country. Furthermore, the frequency of abnormal weather phenomena such as extreme heat and heatwaves caused by global climate change is increasing, necessitating measures to address health hazards resulting from weather changes. Furthermore, the nationwide spread of COVID-19 and the occurrence of disasters during the pandemic have highlighted the increasing complexity and difficulty of health crisis situations. This has led to frequent revisions of related legal systems and regulations. Therefore, anticipating the occurrence of health crisis situations that impact community health, public health nurses—who play a central role in community health activities—are required to steadily work on strengthening the systems and human resource development needed during both peacetime and emergencies. This paper examines the characteristics of community health activities during recent health crises, drawing on the realities of large-scale disasters since the Great East Japan Earthquake, and offers implications for future preparedness.