Wolbachia infection in Aedes aegypti does not affect its vectorial capacity for Dirofilaria immitis.

Mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and filariasis are a growing public health concern in endemic countries. Biological approaches, such as the trans-infection of Wolbachia pipientis in mosquitoes, are an alternative vector control strategy, especially for arthropod-borne viruses such as dengue. In the present study, the effect of Wolbachia (wMel strain) on the vectorial capacity of Aedes aegypti for Dirofilaria immitis was studied.

Establishing community-based integrated care for elderly patients through interprofessional teamwork: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Working in multidisciplinary teams is indispensable for ensuring high-quality care for elderly people in Japan's rapidly aging society. However, health professionals often experience difficulty collaborating in practice because of their different educational backgrounds, ideas, and the roles of each profession. In this qualitative descriptive study, we reveal how to build interdisciplinary collaboration in multidisciplinary teams.

Problem-based learning for radiological technologists: a comparison of student attitudes toward plain radiography.

Background: Knowledge and skill expected of healthcare providers continues to increase alongside developments in medicine and healthcare. Problem-based learning (PBL) is therefore increasingly necessary in training courses for radiological technologists. However, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of PBL to completely introduce it in our education programs.

Nepalese undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teachers: A questionnaire survey.

Background: Clinical practice enables nursing students to acquire essential professional skills, but little is known about nursing students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment (CLE) in Nepal.

Objectives: To examine Nepalese nursing students' perceptions regarding the CLE and supervision.

Design: A cross-sectional questionnaire design was used.

[Study of 4 patients implemented to Advance Care Planning].

This is a study of 4 patients implemented to Advance Care Planning (ACP) reflecting on the health care professionals' role and the outcomes. ACP has been defined as a process of formal decision making that aims to help patients establish their decision about future care that take effect when they lose capacity. For about two years, we tried to engage all patients who were referred to our palliative care team and their families to ACP since their first consultation.

What primary care physician teachers need to sustain community based education in Japan.

Background: Community based education (CBE), defined as "a means of achieving educational relevance to community needs and, consequently, of implementing a community oriented educational program," is reported to be useful for producing rural physicians in Western countries. However, why some physicians withdraw from their teaching roles is not well known, especially in Asian countries. The aim of this study was to clarify the requisites and obstacles for taking part in CBE.

Perception of inter-professional education (IPE) among laypersons in a Japanese rural area.

Many overseas healthcare researchers have advocated the importance of inter-professional education (IPE). However, to what extent laypersons, who reside in Japanese rural areas, understand IPE is not well known. To clarify this issue, we interviewed laypersons regarding their perception of IPE.

Analysis of needs of patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head: using focus group interviews.

Aim: The current needs of patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head were analyzed for the purpose of seeking effective support programs that would maintain and improve the quality of life of the patients.

Methods: A focus group interview method was used to collect data. Interviewees included eight patients.

Frequency of neurotic symptoms shortly after the death of a pet.

Some individuals manifest psychosomatic symptoms after the death of their pets. A survey was conducted at four public and commercial animal cremation service centers in Japan. In each center, a questionnaire was distributed to 100 individuals (400 in total).

Care-seeking behavior of Japanese gynecological cancer survivors suffering from adverse effects.

Background: Post-treatment follow-up visits for gynecological cancer survivors should provide opportunities for management of adverse physical/psychological effects of therapy and early recurrence detection. However, the adequacy of such visits in Japan is poorly documented. We qualitatively explored care-seeking experiences of Japanese gynecological cancer survivors and deduced factors influencing care-seeking behaviors and treatment access.

[Questions that radiography students have regarding X-ray photography: a qualitative study].

Objective: To improve lectures and training programs on X-ray photography, we aimed to determine the questions that radiography students have regarding X-ray photography.

Methods: We collected text data from questions on X-ray photography in radiography student reports after an X-ray photography training program. The text data were analyzed using content analysis.

What rural physicians need to engage in community based education: a qualitative interview survey.

There is systematic evidence that community-based education is effective in the recruitment of rural physicians to remote communities. However, various obstacles may exist that prevent rural physicians from sustaining their mentoring activities. The aim of this study was to explore ways for rural physicians to overcome such adversities and continue their mentoring activities.

Survey of patient and physician satisfaction regarding patient-centered outpatient consultations in Japan.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to show the difference in consultation satisfaction between patient and physician in rural settings, and identify the variables affecting their satisfaction regarding these encounters.

Methods: We collected data by administering questionnaires that included questions regarding satisfaction for a patient-centered approach to patients and physicians, transcribing data from medical records, and observing consultations in person. We then modeled cumulative logits of patient and physician satisfaction scores by performing ordered logistic regression using the proportional odds model.

Factors in the awareness of depression, focusing on perceptual dissimilarities between PCPs and patients: an exploratory and qualitative research.

Primary care physicians (PCPs) are said to play a leading role in the early diagnosis of depression. Sometimes however, symptoms can be overlooked or misdiagnoses may occur, and this may be due to differences in the way that PCPs and patients perceive depression. The aim of this study is to clarify factors that may contribute to suspicions, or awareness of depression, focusing especially on perceptual dissimilarities between PCPs and patients.

Psychiatric investigation of 18 bereaved pet owners.

This survey explores the grief associated with the loss of a pet, and was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaires were handed out to 50 bereaved pet owners attending a public animal cremation service, and we received 18 responses. Participants responded within 0 to 44 (median 4) days of the death of their pet.

Incidence of Community-associated Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections in a Regional Hospital.

Background And Objective: Since the early 2000s, the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections among the community of people lacking known healthcare risk factors has increased. This MRSA infection is referred to as community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infection and is distinct from hospital-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) infection, which occurs among people with known healthcare risk factors. Understanding the epidemiology of CA-MRSA infections is critical; however, this has not been investigated in detail in Japan.

An interview survey on factors influencing the career choice of primary care physicians in rural areas.

Background: The lack of primary care physicians working in rural areas is a major problem both in Japan and worldwide. Particularly in Japan, healthcare provision in the community is seriously deteriorating, due to the absence of a regulated instructional system for primary care physicians in rural areas. Understanding what influences the career choice of rural primary care physicians is vital, and this study aims to examine those factors.

A case of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in a community hospital.

Infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) have recently occurred in communities in people lacking known healthcare risk factors. This MRSA infection is referred to as community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infection, and is distinct from hospital-associated MRSA infection, which occurs in people with risk factors. We experienced a patient diagnosed with CA-MRSA cellulitis, as culture of pus revealed MRSA and he had not been exposed to healthcare environments for the past year.

The perception of the hidden curriculum on medical education: an exploratory study.

Background: Major curriculum reform of undergraduate medical education occurred during the past decades in the United Kingdom (UK); however, the effects of the hidden curriculum, which influence the choice of primary care as a career, have not been sufficiently recognized. While Japan, where traditionally few institutions systematically foster primary care physicians and very few have truly embraced family medicine as their guiding discipline, has also experienced meaningful curriculum reform, the effect of the hidden curriculum is not well known. The aim of this study is to identify themes pertaining to the students' perceptions of the hidden curriculum affecting undergraduate medical education in bedside learning in Japan.

A Japanese case of familial Mediterranean fever with a MEFV gene mutation.

A 17-year-old Japanese male with a three-year history of recurrent episodic chest pain and fever, each lasting for one to three days, was diagnosed with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) because of the following: 1) short attacks of chest pain and fever recurring at varying intervals; 2) no symptoms with a sense of well-being between attacks; and 3) identification of the Mediterranean fever gene (MEFV) mutation demonstrating M6941. Although FMF has been described primarily in several limited ethnic groups, a limited number of cases have been reported in Japan. No specific diagnostic tests are commercially available for FMF so identifying the characteristic clinical picture of FMF is important.

Families' acceptance of near death: a qualitative study of the process for introducing end-of-life care.

Aim: Providing effective end-of-life (EOL) care for the elderly with severe brain damage is difficult because patients' families find it hard to accept the condition of their loved ones as "near death". In Japan, this has become an urgent social problem. Although health-care teams sometimes expect that the elderly with severe brain damage should be treated as terminal, many find that patients' families cannot accept the condition as near death.

The educational impact of home care in community medicine training in a Japanese medical residency program.

In light of Japan's aging society, the number of homebound people is expected to increase, and health care services for such patients will need to expand. The authors implemented a one-month pilot program in a rural hospital, which uses home care as an educational tool to further resident interns' understanding in community medicine. The program was conducted for nine medical residents.

Factors affecting the physician-patient relationship regarding patient participation in medical encounters in primary care.

Background: Supporting the patient's right to participate more actively in medical encounters is recommended. However, the physician-patient relationship in the context of the respect for patient participation is unclear.

Objective: To reveal the factors affecting the physician-patient relationship regarding patient participation in medical encounters in primary care.

Significance of lung shrinkage on CXR as a prognostic factor in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of lung shrinkage on CXR can predict diminished survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)/usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP).

Methodology: In a hospital-based cohort study 68 subjects diagnosed with IPF/UIP by surgical lung biopsy or at autopsy were observed for a mean of 7.6 years.