Oi Remi, Ohta Ryuichi, Shiba Yukiko, Sano Chiaki
Family Medicine, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Izumo, JPN.
Communiy Care, Unnan City Hospital, Unnan, JPN.
Cureus. 2022 Jul 19;14(7):e27036. doi: 10.7759/cureus.27036. eCollection 2022 Jul.
The number of foreign workers in Japan has been increasing in recent years. In Shimane Prefecture, people from non-English speaking countries account for most of the foreign resident population. Language barriers pose numerous challenges for this population. Their problems communicating in the medical context, in particular, contribute to their avoidance of hospitals. In addition to translation machines and English, "Easy Japanese" has been found to help Japanese healthcare workers communicate with foreign patients. "Easy Japanese" refers to easy-to-understand Japanese that involves rephrasing words and sentences. The use of Easy Japanese should be promoted among medical professionals in Japan as it is considered a communication skill that can be improved through practice. A voluntary study group was formed among medical students. During the first session, students were presented with background information, explaining why the need for Easy Japanese is increasing. In the second session, they practiced paraphrasing words. Finally, in the third session, they conducted simulated medical communication and practiced Easy Japanese with foreign residents to determine whether they were able to convey their intentions. Participants were recruited via social networking service, with five participants in the first session, five in the second, and eight in the third. Through this project, it became clear that for participants, the usual way of speaking Japanese came first in practice and that it was difficult for them to produce easy-to-understand phrases at the spur of the moment without practice. Additionally, medical students reported that the expressions they acquired through several practice sessions were helpful when talking with international students on campus. The final session involved a student-led Easy Japanese study group. Based on the students' comments, we found that this study group was useful for them. Accordingly, Easy Japanese education should be continued and expanded to more students in the medical field and to the local community, including foreign residents, to measure its effectiveness.
近年来，日本外国劳工的数量一直在增加。在岛根县，非英语国家的人占外国常住人口的大多数。语言障碍给这一群体带来了诸多挑战。尤其是他们在医疗环境中的沟通问题，导致他们不愿去医院。除了翻译机器和英语外，人们发现“简易日语”有助于日本医护人员与外国患者交流。“简易日语”指的是易懂的日语，包括对单词和句子进行重新措辞。在日本的医疗专业人员中应推广使用简易日语，因为它被视为一种可以通过练习提高的沟通技巧。医学生们组成了一个自愿学习小组。在第一节课上，向学生们介绍了背景信息，解释了对简易日语的需求为何日益增加。在第二节课上，他们练习对单词进行释义。最后，在第三节课上，他们进行了模拟医疗交流，并与外国居民练习使用简易日语，以确定他们是否能够表达自己的意图。参与者通过社交网络服务招募，第一节课有5名参与者，第二节课有5名，第三节课有8名。通过这个项目，很明显，对于参与者来说，平时说日语的方式在实际应用中占主导地位，而且如果没有练习，他们很难在即兴情况下说出易懂的短语。此外，医学生报告说，他们通过几次练习获得的表达方式在与校园里的国际学生交谈时很有帮助。最后一节课是由学生主导的简易日语学习小组。根据学生们的评论，我们发现这个学习小组对他们很有用。因此，应该继续开展简易日语教育，并将其扩展到更多医学领域的学生以及包括外国居民在内的当地社区，以评估其效果。
