Maternal and Child Health Handbook App 'Boshimo' Launches in Achi Village, Nagano Prefecture!

The maternal and child health handbook app 'Boshimo', operated by Boshimo Co., Ltd., has been introduced in Achi Village, Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture, and will launch on Wednesday, April 1st as the 'Achikko Childcare Support App'. Under the banner of 'community-nurtured childcare support,' Achi Village aims to create an environment where children can grow up healthily, striving to build a community that understands and supports children and families for the future. For this initiative, the village has adopted 'Boshimo,' an app already implemented by over 830 municipalities, which allows data from paper maternal and child health handbooks to be recorded digitally. This launch aligns with the Children and Families Agency's policy to promote the use of digital health handbooks and maternal and child health DX. 'Boshimo' is an app that easily supports the management of vaccination schedules and health checkup results, as well as the delivery of local information, via smartphones, tablets, and PCs. Because the data is stored in the cloud, it serves as a secure backup if the physical handbook is lost due to disasters. It also supports continuous use when moving to another municipality or changing devices, ensuring peace of mind for long-term use. ## ◆ 'Boshimo' Launches in Achi Village, Nagano Prefecture, to Support Local Families! The Children and Families Center in Achi Village implements various measures targeting expectant and nursing mothers, as well as children aged 0 to 18 and their guardians/families, to support healthy child development. They accept consultations on diverse themes such as pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, family/school concerns, and nursery schools. Additionally, parenting classes during pregnancy and age-appropriate play areas are regularly held, providing a well-equipped environment for raising children with peace of mind. This time, 'Boshimo' was adopted as a new tool for disseminating childcare information to help local families utilize the village's initiatives more conveniently. ## ◆ Strongly Supporting Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Childcare with a Community-Based App! The 'Achikko Childcare Support App' adopted by Achi Village is compatible with smartphones, tablets, and PCs. It is packed with convenient features that assist busy parents, including recording and managing health data for mothers and children, scheduling vaccinations, providing advice on childbirth and parenting, sharing functions with family members such as grandparents living far away, and notifying users of local information distributed by the village. The 'Dekitayo Anniversary' (Milestone Anniversary) feature, which can be used as a childcare diary, was created based on the format examples from the Children and Families Agency. It allows users to record developmental stages and childcare milestones, including the 'Guardian's Record' from the physical handbook, with photos and messages, while also serving as a guide for the child's growth and development. Furthermore, even during sudden societal changes such as infectious disease outbreaks, the app can instantly deliver critical information—like alerts from the local government or advice from public health nurses—via text and video to those who need it, supporting the creation of an environment where users can safely give birth and raise children even in emergencies. ##