Public health nurse support device, public health nurse support method, and computer program

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of contributing to optimization of publicly-borne medical costs and nursing care benefits in a municipality by maintaining health of residents with provision of health care service by a health nurse while improving business efficiency of the health nurse.SOLUTION: An acquisition unit 51 of a health nurse support device 50 acquires health condition information about a health condition of an object person who receives health care service by a health nurse. A calculation unit 52 calculates priority of the object person by using the health condition information for each of the plurality of object persons who receives the health care service by the health nurse. Also, the calculation unit 52 calculates priority of optimization of an estimated loss amount and a business load of the health nurse as the priority of the object person by using the estimated loss amount of a municipality in a case where a health care guidance object person catches a disease in addition to the health condition information when the object person is the health care guidance object person. A planning unit 53 generates a plan of health care business that provides health care service to the plurality of object persons by using the priority of the object person.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology for supporting the work of nurses.

Background Art

[0002] Local governments (hereinafter also referred to as municipalities) have the intention of optimizing public burden medical expenses and nursing care benefit expenses. In order to optimize such public burden medical expenses and nursing care benefit expenses, it is desirable that the health of many residents be maintained, and it is important to provide health services by nurses to residents.

[0003] In addition, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-151404) discloses a technique for calculating the priority of health guidance subjects using medical examination information in order to select health guidance subjects with high guidance effects in order to carry out efficient health guidance. Further, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-219828) discloses a technique related to updating data on the visit destinations of patients with respect to home medical care.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The target population for health services provided by public health nurses (hereinafter also simply referred to as "target population") includes a wide range of residents, such as infants, pregnant women, the elderly, people with disabilities, and adults at high risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases. Due to the aging of the population, the number of target populations is increasing. In addition, some municipalities are experiencing a shortage of public health nurses. As a result of these circumstances, each public health nurse is responsible for a large number of target populations, and in some cases, they are unable to provide satisfactory health services to individual target populations. To alleviate this situation, there is a demand for improving the efficiency of public health nurses' work.

[0006] This invention was conceived to solve the above problems. In other words, the main objective of this invention is to provide a technology that can improve the efficiency of public health nurses' work, maintain the health of residents through the provision of health services by public health nurses, and contribute to the appropriate management of public medical expenses and long-term care benefit expenses in local governments. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the public health nurse support device according to the present invention, in one embodiment, An acquisition unit that acquires health status information related to the health status of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses, A calculation unit that calculates the priority of each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse using the health status information, A planning unit generates a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple target individuals using the calculated priority order, An output unit that outputs information on the generated health service plan and Equipped with, If the subject is a person who is eligible for health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the calculation unit uses, in addition to the health status information, the estimated amount of loss for the local government if the person eligible for health guidance develops a disease, and calculates the priority of the subject as the priority for optimizing the estimated amount of loss and the workload of the public health nurse.

[0008] Furthermore, the public health nurse support method according to the present invention, in one embodiment, By computer, We obtain health status information related to the health condition of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses. For each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse, the priority of the individual is calculated using the health status information. Furthermore, when calculating this priority, if the individual is a recipient of health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the estimated loss to the local government if the recipient develops an illness is also used in addition to the health status information. The priority of the individual is then calculated based on the estimated loss and the priority that optimizes the workload of the public health nurse. Using the calculated priority, a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple target individuals is generated. The generated information for the health service plan is output.

[0009] Furthermore, in one embodiment, the computer program according to the present invention is: A process for obtaining health status information related to the health status of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses, For each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse, the priority of the individual is calculated using the health status information. Furthermore, when calculating the priority, if the individual is a person receiving health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the estimated loss to the local government if the person develops an illness is also used in addition to the health status information to calculate the priority of the individual based on the estimated loss and the priority that optimizes the workload of the public health nurse. A process to generate a plan for health services to provide health services to the multiple target individuals using the calculated priority, A process to output information on the generated health service plan and Have the computer execute it. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the efficiency of public health nurses' work, maintain the health of residents through the provision of health services by public health nurses, and contribute to the appropriate management of publicly funded medical expenses and long-term care benefit expenses in local governments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates the configuration of a public health nurse support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates an example of how information output by a public health nurse support device is displayed. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation related to supporting the work of a public health nurse in the public health nurse support device of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This diagram illustrates the configuration of a public health nurse support device according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This flowchart illustrates an example of the operation related to supporting the work of public health nurses in a public health nurse support device of another embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] <First Embodiment> The healthcare professional support device according to the first embodiment of the present invention provides a healthcare service plan for supporting the work of healthcare professionals in order to improve the efficiency of their work. Healthcare professionals are broadly classified into administrative healthcare professionals, industrial healthcare professionals, and school healthcare professionals (school nurses), and the healthcare professional support device of the first embodiment is mainly a device for supporting the work of administrative healthcare professionals. Administrative healthcare professionals (hereinafter also simply referred to as healthcare professionals) are responsible for healthcare and welfare services in city, town, and village offices, health centers, etc. For example, healthcare professionals receive health consultations from residents and introduce them to hospitals when medical treatment is necessary. In addition, healthcare professionals conduct health checks on infants and their mothers and check for any abuse. Furthermore, healthcare professionals provide health guidance to adults on measures for preventing lifestyle-related diseases and tobacco smoking cessation, and visit the homes of pregnant women, the elderly, and disabled persons who need to be concerned about changes in their physical condition to check their health status. The work performed by such healthcare professionals is also referred to as healthcare services here. Also, residents who receive healthcare services from healthcare professionals are also referred to as target persons.

[0014] The healthcare professional support device according to the first embodiment calculates the priority of receiving healthcare services for each of a plurality of target persons. Then, using the calculated priority of the target persons, the healthcare professional support device generates a healthcare service plan for providing healthcare services to the target persons so as to improve the work efficiency of healthcare professionals. Here, such a plan is also referred to as a work plan. Also, it is assumed that there are a plurality of healthcare professionals for whom the healthcare professional support device provides work support. Furthermore, it is assumed that each healthcare professional has a defined target person to be in charge of, but for example, there may be a case where the target persons to be dealt with are defined in a multi-person responsibility system such that there are a target person to be dealt with as the main person in charge and a target person to be dealt with as the deputy person in charge.

[0015] The healthcare professional support device of the first embodiment aims to improve the work efficiency of healthcare professionals, thereby supporting the work of healthcare professionals so that they can provide appropriate healthcare services suitable for the residents to the residents who need healthcare services. By providing such support for the work of healthcare professionals, the healthcare professional support device contributes to the optimization of public burden medical expenses and nursing care benefit expenses in local governments, enabling the health of more residents to be maintained. Thus, since the healthcare professional support device is designed with the consideration of optimizing public burden medical expenses and nursing care benefit expenses in local governments, the priority of the target person used in the process of generating the work plan of healthcare professionals is calculated using the following matters. That is, the priority is calculated using at least information related to the health status of the target person (health status information). Also, when the target person is a person targeted for health guidance, which is one of the healthcare services provided by a healthcare professional, in addition to the information related to the health status of the target person (health status information), the estimated loss amount of the local government in the case where the person targeted for health guidance develops a disease is also used to calculate the priority. Here, the health guidance mainly refers to individual interviews for guiding the improvement of lifestyle habits, etc., targeting people who are considered to have a high risk of developing diseases from the perspective of preventing cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

[0016] That is, the person targeted for health guidance (the person for whom health guidance is provided) has not developed diseases such as lifestyle-related diseases, but if they develop a disease, it may cause economic losses to the local government. For example, as a loss to the local government, the public burden medical expenses related to the treatment of the developed disease can be cited. Also, if the income of the person targeted for health guidance decreases due to the onset of the disease, a decrease in tax revenue can be cited as a loss to the local government. Furthermore, if nursing care becomes necessary due to the developed disease, an increase in nursing care benefit expenses can be cited as a loss to the local government. Here, the economic loss of the local government estimated in this way and expressed in terms of amount is called the estimated loss amount. The healthcare professional support device of the first embodiment calculates the priority considering such an estimated loss amount for the person targeted for health guidance. When calculating the estimated loss amount, what losses to use as the economic loss of the local government in the case where the person targeted for health guidance develops a disease can be appropriately set by the local government, and the detailed explanation is omitted here.

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the public health nurse support device according to the first embodiment. Specifically, the public health nurse support device 1 is a computer device. This device is connected to an information source 3, a database 4, an input device 5, and a display device 7, and can also be connected to a terminal device 6 and a printer 8 as needed. Information source 3 is an information source capable of providing information used in the processing performed by the public health nurse support device 1. Specific examples of information source 3 include a computer device of a system that holds data such as the results of a subject's health checkup, completed questionnaire data, and responses to a lifestyle questionnaire. Another example of information source 3 is a computer device of a system that manages electronic medical records at a hospital where the subject has a primary care physician. Furthermore, another example of information source 3 is a computer device of a system that holds data on the results of residents' responses to health-related questions at a health-related event organized by a local government. Note that the type and number of information sources 3 to which the public health nurse support device 1 connects are not limited; the public health nurse support device 1 connects to any appropriate information source 3 that outputs information necessary for processing related to supporting the work of public health nurses.

[0018] Database 4 is a storage device in which information about a subject is stored, associated with subject identification information that identifies the subject. Examples of information about a subject stored in Database 4 include basic personal information such as name, age, and address. Other examples of information about a subject stored in Database 4 include health status information related to the subject's health, such as health checkup results, medical history, vaccination records, and information representing lifestyle habits such as preferences and sleep duration. Furthermore, information about the subject may also include My Number (social security number).

[0019] Input device 5 consists of a keyboard, mouse, etc., and is a device for inputting information into the public health nurse support device 1. Display device 7 is a device that displays information on a screen using characters and images. Terminal device 6 is an information device equipped with communication and display functions, and here, as a specific example, portable information devices such as smartphones and tablet terminals are given, for example, carried by public health nurses. Printer 8 is a device that receives data such as characters, images, and shapes from a computer and prints them on paper or other materials.

[0020] The public health nurse support device 1 comprises a processing unit 10 and a storage device 40. The storage device 40 has a storage medium for storing data and computer programs (hereinafter also referred to as programs) 41. There are many types of storage devices, such as magnetic disk drives and semiconductor memory elements, and furthermore, semiconductor memory elements have multiple types such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). The type of storage device 40 provided in the public health nurse support device 1 is not limited to one. Computer devices are often equipped with multiple types of storage devices. Here, the type and number of storage devices 40 provided in the public health nurse support device 1 are not limited, and their explanation is omitted. Also, if the public health nurse support device 1 is equipped with multiple types of storage devices 40, they will be collectively referred to as storage device 40.

[0021] The arithmetic unit 10 is composed of processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The arithmetic unit 10 can perform various functions based on the program 41 by reading and executing the program 41 stored in the storage device 40. In this case, the arithmetic unit 10 has an acquisition unit 11, a calculation unit 12, a planning unit 13, and an output unit 14 as functional units related to supporting the work of public health nurses.

[0022] The acquisition unit 11 acquires information about individuals who will receive health services from a public health nurse. For example, when information about an individual is manually entered into the public health nurse support device 1 by an operator using the input device 5, the acquisition unit 11 receives the information about that individual and stores the received information in the database 4. The information stored in the database 4 is associated with individual identification information assigned to the corresponding individual. Examples of information about an individual that is entered into the public health nurse support device 1 by the operation of the input device 5 include basic personal information that represents an individual, such as name, age, and address.

[0023] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 11 not only receives information input by the input device 5, but also has the function of acquiring information about the subject from the information source 3. For example, the information to be acquired is pre-stored in the storage device 40. The information to be acquired includes information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 from the information source 3, and information that identifies the information source 3 from which that information was acquired (such as address information for connection). Examples of information acquired from the information source 3 include health checkup results, medical history, vaccination records, records representing lifestyle habits such as preferences and sleep duration, and answers to health-related questions. The information listed here is health status information related to the subject's health condition. In other words, the acquisition unit 11 acquires at least health status information related to the subject's health condition from the information source 3. Note that the health status information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 is not limited to the specific examples of information described above, as long as it is information related to the subject's health condition.

[0024] The acquisition unit 11 acquires information about the subject from the information source 3 by referring to the information to be acquired at a predetermined acquisition timing. An example of an acquisition timing in which the acquisition unit 11 acquires information from the information source 3 is when information about a new subject is received. That is, when the acquisition unit 11 receives the subject's basic personal information as information about a new subject, the acquisition unit 11 refers to the information to be acquired and connects to the information source 3. The information source 3 then performs a search process to retrieve information about the subject, including health status information, using the received basic personal information and the information to be acquired. If the information to be acquired, as represented in the information to be acquired, is retrieved in the information source 3 through this search process, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the retrieved information from the information source 3 and stores the acquired information in the database 4. At this time, the stored information is associated with subject identification information.

[0025] Another example of when the acquisition unit 11 acquires information from the information source 3 is at predetermined time intervals. For example, since the information to be acquired by the acquisition unit 11 from the information source 3 includes information that is updated, the acquisition unit 11 periodically connects to the information source 3 and, if there is updated information regarding the target person, acquires the updated information and updates the information in the database 4.

[0026] Furthermore, if the acquisition unit 11 receives My Number information as information about the subject, it may acquire information associated with the My Number by reading it from information source 3 using the My Number. Information associated with the My Number includes basic personal information such as the subject's address and date of birth. In addition, if the My Number is associated with medical information, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire the medical information associated with the My Number using the My Number.

[0027] The calculation unit 12 calculates the priority for providing health services to each individual. Here, the priority is calculated considering the individual's health status and the estimated loss for the local government. For example, if an individual is a target for health guidance (an individual who receives health guidance from a public health nurse), the priority is calculated using health status information related to the health status of the target individual and the estimated loss for the local government estimated for that individual. The estimated loss is the amount representing the estimated economic loss for the local government if the target individual develops a disease such as a lifestyle-related disease. For the target individual, the calculation unit 12 calculates the priority for the target individual as the estimated loss and the priority that optimizes the workload of the public health nurse. As mentioned above, the type of loss used as the economic loss for the local government if the target individual develops a disease may be set as appropriate by the local government, and the explanation of how to calculate the estimated loss is omitted here.

[0028] Among the individuals to whom public health nurses provide health services, there are those who require a higher level of health assessment by public health nurses than those who receive health guidance, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, infants, and their mothers (hereinafter referred to as "individuals requiring attention"). When an individual is classified as an individual requiring attention, priority is calculated primarily using their health status information. The priority of these individuals requiring attention is often higher than that of individuals receiving health guidance.

[0029] There are various methods for the calculation unit 12 to calculate priority, and this is not limited to them, but for example, a method using AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology can be considered. In this case, the calculation unit 12 uses a priority calculation model that outputs a priority for each subject. The priority calculation model is a model that takes predetermined information, including health status information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, as input and outputs information representing the priority of the subject. When generating the priority calculation model, machine learning using AI technology is performed on the priority of the subject using multiple types of information related to health work, such as information representing the relationship between health status and the necessity and urgency of health services from public health nurses, and information representing the relationship between the estimated loss amount estimated from health status and the workload of health guidance work. The priority output by the priority calculation model generated in this way will be a priority that takes into account not only the magnitude of the estimated loss amount but also the magnitude of the workload placed on the public health nurse, for example, for subjects of health guidance. In other words, the relationship between the estimated loss amount and the priority of subjects of health guidance is not necessarily a simple relationship where the priority of subjects of health guidance increases as the estimated loss amount increases.

[0030] The planning unit 13 uses the priority of target individuals calculated by the calculation unit 12 to generate a work plan for each public health nurse, specifying when, to which target individuals, and what kind of health services to provide, in order to improve the efficiency of the public health nurses' work. For example, the planning unit 13 generates a work plan for each predetermined unit period (e.g., weekly or monthly). Such work plans are generated using, for example, a plan generation model created using AI technology. This plan generation model takes predetermined information such as health status information related to the health status of target individuals, the priority of target individuals, the type of target individual, and information related to the public health nurse's work (e.g., planned leave and working hours) as input and outputs a work plan for the public health nurse. If the target individuals to be covered include those who require home visits for health services, the work plan is generated using information representing at least the address of the target individual to be visited. Furthermore, if multiple public health nurses are assigned to a target individual, the work plan may be generated to take into account situations such as a sub-nurse taking over from the primary nurse. Furthermore, the work plan generated by the planning unit 13 may include information that can be presented to the public health nurse regarding the estimated time to spend with each individual when providing health services. This estimated time is calculated, for example, using the content of the health services provided and their priority (in other words, importance).

[0031] Furthermore, when the planning unit 13 generates a work plan in which a public health nurse visits multiple individuals on the same day to provide health services, the individuals are selected in a way that allows for efficient movement and performance of health services. The planning unit 13 may also generate travel routes for visiting multiple individuals on the same day and associate the travel route information with the work plan information. In addition, when generating travel routes, the planning unit 13 may calculate the travel time required for each trip and associate the calculated travel time information with the information representing the travel route. Furthermore, the planning unit 13 may associate information on the planned duration of stay for providing health services to individuals with the information representing the travel route. This planned duration of stay is, for example, based on the estimated time mentioned above. Furthermore, the information representing the travel route may include information about the destinations (such as addresses) of the individuals to be visited, as well as basic personal information, health status information, and priority information for those individuals. Furthermore, the starting and ending points of the travel route are not limited to public health centers or government offices; the planning unit 13 may generate the travel route using, for example, information on the starting and ending points entered using the input device 5. Furthermore, if there are schools or parks where elderly people gather near the travel route, the planning unit 13 may associate such information with the information representing the travel route. In addition, the planning unit 13 may generate a travel route that allows for monitoring of children going to and from school while improving the efficiency of public health nurses. There are various methods for generating travel routes, and the method adopted by the planning unit 13 here is not particularly limited, so its explanation is omitted. The generated work plan and the travel route information associated with the work plan are stored in the database 4, along with the identification information of the corresponding public health nurse. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the travel route information generated by the planning unit 13 is associated with map information, and the travel route can be displayed superimposed on the map. In addition, regarding the generation of travel routes, the planning unit 13 may acquire weather information that may affect the travel on the day of travel, and use the acquired information to review the travel route and update the travel route information if changes are necessary. Furthermore, the planning unit 13 may accept requests from public health nurses regarding travel routes and reflect them in the generation of travel routes.

[0032] The output unit 14 outputs requested information when it is requested from the input device 5 or, for example, the terminal device 6 operated by a public health nurse. For example, information requested by the terminal device 6 is returned to the terminal device 6 by the output unit 14. The terminal device 6 displays the information received from the output unit 14 on its display screen. Information requested through the operation of the input device 5 is displayed by the output unit 14 on, for example, the screen of the display device 7. Furthermore, if printing is requested through the operation of the input device 5, the output unit 14 outputs the requested information to the printer 8.

[0033] The output unit 14 allows the work plans of each public health nurse, generated by the planning unit 13, as well as information such as basic personal information and health status information of the target individuals, to be displayed on the display device 7 or transmitted to the terminal device 6 and displayed on the display screen of the terminal device 6. Figure 2 illustrates an example of how the information output by the output unit 14 is displayed on the display screens of the display device 7 and the terminal device 6. In the example in Figure 2, the monthly work plans of each public health nurse, generated by the planning unit 13, are displayed as if they were written in a calendar. In addition, detailed daily work plans are displayed on a screen separate from the calendar display. It is possible to switch (transition) from the calendar display representing the monthly work plan to the display of detailed daily work plans. In other words, the calendar representing the monthly work plan contains (attached) link information for each day to connect to information representing the detailed daily work plan. Using this link information, the output unit 14 reads the information representing the detailed daily work plan from the database 4, and this information is output to the display device 7 and the terminal device 6 and displayed on the display screens of the display device 7 and the terminal device 6.

[0034] Furthermore, in the example shown in Figure 2, regarding the business plan for visiting the target person, information representing the travel route generated by the planning unit 13 is read by the output unit 14 using link information in the same manner as above, and this information can be displayed superimposed on the map. In addition, information about the target person listed in the business plan may be read from the database 4 by the output unit 14, and this information may be displayed on the display screen of the display device 7 or terminal device 6. Also, when information about the target person is displayed, the priority of that target person may be indicated by differences in text, marks, or the color of the text representing the target person's name.

[0035] The public health nurse support device 1 of the first embodiment is configured as described above. Next, an example of the operation related to supporting the work of a public health nurse in this public health nurse support device 1 will be explained using Figure 3.

[0036] For example, the acquisition unit 11 of the computing unit 10 determines whether it is time to acquire information (acquisition timing) (step 101 in Figure 3). If it determines that it is time to acquire information, the acquisition unit 11 refers to the information to be acquired stored in the storage device 40, connects to the information source 3, and acquires information about the subject, including health status information, from the information source 3 (step 102). Subsequently, the calculation unit 12 calculates the priority for providing health services to each subject (step 103). For subjects requiring attention, the priority is mainly calculated using health status information, and for subjects requiring health guidance, the priority is calculated using the estimated loss amount of the local government in addition to health status information.

[0037] Subsequently, the planning unit 13 determines whether it is time to generate a plan for the public health nurses' health services (work plan) (step 104). If it determines that it is time to generate a work plan, it generates a work plan for each public health nurse (step 105). The generated work plans are stored in the database 4, associated with the public health nurse's identification information. If a timing for generating a work plan is set for each public health nurse, the planning unit 13 generates a work plan for the public health nurse according to that timing.

[0038] After the business plan is generated, or if it is determined in step 104 that it is not time to generate the business plan, the output unit 14 determines whether or not an information output request has been received from the input device 5 or terminal device 6 (step 106). If it is determined that an information output request has been received, the output unit 14 outputs the requested information (step 107). The destination of the information output is terminal device 6 if the information output request has been received from terminal device 6, and the destination input by input device 5 (such as display device 7 or printer 8) if the information output request has been received from input device 5.

[0039] Subsequently, the calculation unit 10 determines whether, for example, the input device 5 has instructed the public health nurse support device 1 to terminate its operation (step 108). If no termination instruction has been received, the acquisition unit 11 determines in step 101 whether it is acquisition timing. If the acquisition unit 11 determines that it is not acquisition timing, the planning unit 13 determines in step 104 whether it is timing to generate a health work plan (work plan). If it is timing to generate a work plan, the planning unit 13 generates a work plan in step 105. In this way, the operations from step 101 onward are repeated until the public health nurse support device 1 is instructed to terminate its operation.

[0040] The public health nurse support device 1 of the first embodiment calculates the priority of each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse using each individual's health status information, and generates a plan (work plan) for the public health nurse's health work using this priority. In other words, by using a priority that takes into account the health status information of the individuals, the public health nurse support device 1 can generate a work plan that improves the efficiency of public health nurses while taking into consideration the health status of the individuals. Furthermore, if the individual is a target for health guidance, the public health nurse support device 1 also calculates the priority using the estimated amount of loss for the local government if the target develops an illness. Therefore, the public health nurse support device 1 can contribute to the appropriate management of public medical expenses and long-term care benefit expenses in local governments by improving the efficiency of the lifestyle guidance work performed by public health nurses to target individuals for health guidance while maintaining the health of those individuals.

[0041] <Second Embodiment> A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the description of the second embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used for parts that have the same names as those used in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations of these common parts will be omitted.

[0042] In the second embodiment, the calculation unit 12 also uses the health awareness level of the individuals to be given health guidance when calculating the priority of those to be given health guidance. The health awareness level is the degree of awareness (interest) in health, and here, a higher level of awareness (interest) in health is referred to as a higher health awareness level. Furthermore, whether the health awareness level is high or low is based, for example, on a standard health awareness obtained by statistically processing the results of a survey on health awareness levels.

[0043] Individuals with a high level of health awareness who are targeted for health guidance may become unnecessary after receiving lifestyle guidance, as they will likely modify their lifestyle habits according to the guidance. This is thought to contribute to the success of lifestyle guidance provided by public health nurses. Therefore, it is possible to prioritize these individuals with a high level of health awareness over those with a low level of health awareness, and provide them with lifestyle guidance earlier, potentially removing them from the list of individuals targeted for lifestyle guidance. This is thought to lead to increased efficiency in the work of public health nurses. On the other hand, if individuals with a high level of health awareness are first given pamphlets outlining lifestyle improvements, they may begin to improve their lifestyle habits on their own without needing individual lifestyle guidance from a public health nurse. In this case, it may be possible to lower the priority given to such individuals.

[0044] Furthermore, individuals receiving health guidance with low health awareness levels are less likely to recognize their high risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases as a personal issue compared to those receiving guidance with high health awareness levels. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of developing diseases in individuals receiving health guidance with low health awareness levels, it is considered necessary to prioritize them and provide them with repeated lifestyle guidance. On the other hand, individuals receiving health guidance with low health awareness levels may not readily change their lifestyle habits even after receiving guidance, which could increase the workload of public health nurses. Considering this, it may be advisable to lower the priority of individuals receiving health guidance with low health awareness levels compared to those receiving guidance with high health awareness levels.

[0045] Thus, there are various possible relationships between the health awareness level of those receiving health guidance and their priority. Here, the relationship between the health awareness level of those receiving health guidance, the changes in their health status, and the workload of public health nurses is accumulated as performance data. For example, this accumulated performance data is used when generating the priority calculation model used by the calculation unit 12.

[0046] The following types of information are considered to be useful for measuring health awareness levels. For example, people with high health awareness levels are likely to participate in health-related events, undergo regular health checkups at the recommended frequency, and receive vaccinations, demonstrating that their high level of health awareness is reflected in their actions. Therefore, using the information that can measure such health awareness levels (hereinafter also referred to as health awareness-related information) that can be obtained by the acquisition unit 11, the calculation unit 12 calculates the priority of individuals to be targeted for health guidance, for example, using a priority calculation model.

[0047] Furthermore, the calculation unit 12 may calculate the health awareness level of the person to be given health guidance. For example, reference information for determining the level that the calculation unit 12 refers to when calculating the health awareness level is pre-stored in the storage device 40. This reference information for determining the level is information for calculating the health awareness level of the person to be given health guidance using health awareness-related information. An example of reference information for determining the level is relationship data between the health awareness level and conditions based on combinations of multiple health awareness-related information that correspond to that health awareness level, such as, for example, if a person has participated in two health-related events in the past year and has received regular health checkups, then their health awareness level is "A".

[0048] The calculation unit 12 may use the health awareness-related information of the person to be given health guidance, acquired by the acquisition unit 11, and the reference information for determining the level to calculate the health awareness level of the person to be given health guidance, and store the calculated health awareness level information in the database 4 as information related to the person to be given health guidance, associated with personal identification information.

[0049] Furthermore, if the calculation unit 12 calculates the health awareness level and the output of information on the health awareness level is requested, the output unit 14 may output the requested information on the health awareness level. As a result, information on the health awareness level of the person receiving health guidance may be displayed on the display device 7 or on the screen of the terminal device 6.

[0050] Other than the above, the configuration of the public health nurse support device 1 in the second embodiment is the same as the configuration of the public health nurse support device 1 in the first embodiment.

[0051] Since the public health nurse support device 1 of the second embodiment has the same configuration as the public health nurse support device 1 of the first embodiment, it can achieve the same effects as the public health nurse support device 1 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the case of the public health nurse support device 1 of the second embodiment, when determining the priority of individuals to be given health guidance, the priority is set taking into account information on the health awareness level of the individuals to be given health guidance. As a result, the public health nurse support device 1 of the second embodiment can generate a work plan that also takes into account information on the health awareness level of the individuals to be given health guidance, and can support public health nurses in order to further improve the efficiency of their work.

[0052] <Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the first or second embodiments, and can be implemented in various ways. For example, if a public health nurse carries a terminal device 6 that has a function to output location information, the public health nurse support device 1 may acquire location information from the terminal device 6 at predetermined intervals. Furthermore, for example, when the public health nurse support device 1 outputs map information showing a travel route as shown in Figure 2 to the terminal device 6, it may display the location of the terminal device 6 on the map based on the location information acquired from the terminal device 6. This allows the public health nurse to see their own position on the map along the travel route generated by the public health nurse support device 1.

[0053] Furthermore, the public health nurse support device 1 may, for example, receive information representing the work performance of each public health nurse and store it as a work performance record in, for example, a database 4. For example, the public health nurse support device 1 may receive information such as whether or not each of the multiple work items included in the work plan generated by the planning unit 13 was completed, and the public health nurse support device 1 may generate a work performance record using the received information.

[0054] Furthermore, the public health nurse support device 1 may receive information such as the content of health services provided to the target person by the public health nurse and information representing changes in the target person's health status, and store it as service performance information. In addition, the public health nurse support device 1 may analyze such stored service performance information and output analysis results such as whether or not the provision of health services was effective.

[0055] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a public health nurse support device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This public health nurse support device 50 is, for example, a computer device and, by executing a computer program, comprises an acquisition unit 51, a calculation unit 52, a planning unit 53, and an output unit 54 as functional units. The acquisition unit 51 acquires health status information related to the health status of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses. The calculation unit 52 calculates the priority of each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from public health nurses using the health status information. Furthermore, if an individual is a person receiving health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by public health nurses, the calculation unit 52 uses not only the health status information but also the estimated loss amount for the local government if the person receiving health guidance develops a disease, and calculates the priority of the individual based on the estimated loss amount and the priority for optimizing the workload of the public health nurse.

[0056] The planning unit 53 generates a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple individuals, using the priority of the individuals. The output unit 54 outputs the information of the generated plan.

[0057] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation related to supporting the work of public health nurses in the public health nurse support device 50. For example, when the acquisition unit 51 acquires health status information related to the health status of a person receiving health services from a public health nurse (step 201), the calculation unit 52 then calculates the priority of the person using the health status information (step 202). At this time, if the person is a person who will receive health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the calculation unit 52 uses not only the health status information but also the estimated amount of loss for the local government if the person develops a disease, to calculate the priority of the person, which is the priority for optimizing the estimated loss and the workload of the public health nurse. Such priority calculation is performed for each of multiple people.

[0058] Subsequently, the planning unit 53 generates a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple target individuals using the calculated priority (step 203). Then, the output unit 54 outputs the generated plan, for example, when the output of the service plan is requested (step 204).

[0059] This public health nurse support device 50 generates a plan for public health nurses' health services using a priority calculated using the health status information of the target person. This allows the public health nurse support device 50 to support public health services, which aim to maintain the health of residents through the provision of health services by public health nurses, while simultaneously improving the efficiency of public health nurses' work. Furthermore, if the target person is a recipient of health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by public health nurses, the public health nurse support device 50 calculates the target person's priority using not only health status information but also the estimated loss for the local government if the recipient develops an illness, and prioritizes the optimization of the public health nurse's workload based on this estimated loss. Using this priority, the public health nurse support device 50 generates a plan for public health nurses' health services, thereby improving the efficiency of public health nurses' lifestyle guidance work for recipients of health guidance, while also contributing to the appropriate management of public medical expenses and long-term care benefit expenses in local governments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1,50 Public health nurse support equipment 11,51 Acquisition Department 12,52 Calculation section 13,53 Planning Department 14,54 Output section

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires health status information related to the health status of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses, A calculation unit that calculates the priority of each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse using the health status information, A planning unit generates a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple target individuals using the calculated priority order, An output unit that outputs information on the generated health service plan and Equipped with, The calculation unit, when the subject is a person who is eligible for health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, uses, in addition to the health status information, the estimated amount of loss for the local government if the person eligible for health guidance develops a disease, and calculates the priority of the subject as the priority for optimizing the estimated amount of loss and the workload of the public health nurse. Public health nurse support device.

2. The calculation unit calculates the priority using a priority calculation model that takes information including the health status information of the subject as input and outputs the priority of the subject as output. The aforementioned priority calculation model is generated by machine learning using information that includes information representing the relationship between the health status of the target person and the need for health services, and information representing the relationship between the health status of the person to be given health guidance, the estimated loss, and the workload of health services related to health guidance. The public health nurse support device according to claim 1.

3. The acquisition unit acquires health awareness-related information concerning the health awareness of the person subject to health guidance as health status information. The calculation unit also uses the health awareness-related information acquired by the acquisition unit to calculate the priority of the individuals to be targeted for health guidance. The public health nurse support device according to claim 1.

4. The acquisition unit further acquires information representing the address of the place visited by the person receiving the health service through home visits. Furthermore, if the planning unit generates a plan for visiting multiple individuals on the same day as part of the health service plan, it calculates the travel routes for visiting those individuals. The output unit further outputs information about the health service plan associated with the travel route information. The public health nurse support device according to claim 1.

5. By computer, We obtain health status information related to the health condition of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses. For each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse, the priority of the individual is calculated using the health status information. Furthermore, when calculating this priority, if the individual is a recipient of health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the estimated loss to the local government if the recipient develops an illness is also used in addition to the health status information. The priority of the individual is then calculated based on the estimated loss and the priority that optimizes the workload of the public health nurse. Using the calculated priority, a plan for health services to provide health services to multiple target individuals is generated. Output the information of the generated health service plan. Public health nurse support method.

6. A process for obtaining health status information related to the health status of individuals receiving health services from public health nurses, For each of the multiple individuals receiving health services from a public health nurse, the priority of the individual is calculated using the health status information. Furthermore, when calculating the priority, if the individual is a person receiving health guidance, which is one of the health services provided by a public health nurse, the estimated loss to the local government if the person develops an illness is also used in addition to the health status information to calculate the priority of the individual based on the estimated loss and the priority that optimizes the workload of the public health nurse. A process to generate a plan for health services to provide health services to the multiple target individuals using the calculated priority, A process to output information on the generated health service plan and A computer program that causes a computer to execute a command.

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