Effects of different educational interventions on cervical cancer knowledge and human papillomavirus vaccination uptake among young women in Japan: Preliminary results of a cluster randomized controlled trial.

The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are increasing among young Japanese women. In November 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare reinstated the active recommendation of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, after it had been suspended in June 2013 due to reports of adverse reactions. However, vaccine hesitancy is prevalent in the younger generation in Japan.

Patient preferences for advanced therapies in ulcerative colitis using conjoint analysis.

Background/aims: Selecting an optimal advanced therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC) is difficult because of the increasing number of available therapies. This study assessed UC patients' preferences for drug profiles in decision-making regarding advanced therapies using conjoint analysis.

Methods: A web-based survey was conducted from October to November 2023 in patients with UC aged ≥ 18 years with prior oral 5-aminosalicylic acid treatment (UMIN000052327).

Quantitative Definition of Low-Health-Interest Populations by Using Regression Trees: A Nationwide Internet Survey in Japan.

Background: Reducing health disparities is a public health issue. Identification of low-health-interest populations is important, but a definition of people with low health interest has not yet been established. We aimed to quantitatively define low-health-interest populations.

Evaluation of Parents' Use of a Child Health Care Information App and Their Health Literacy: Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Recently, digital media, including internet websites and smartphone apps, have become popular resources for parents in searching for child health care information. Higher health literacy among parents in obtaining adequate health care information and making proper decisions may lead to improved child health outcomes and a reduction in the burden on health care professionals. However, few studies have examined the association between the provision of child health care information apps and parents' health literacy.

Factors associated with adherence to recommendations for medical visits following annual health checkups among Japanese employees: A prospective cohort study.

There are growing concerns in Japanese workplaces that many employees do not follow recommendations to visit medical institutions for further examinations following annual health checkups. Although previous studies have shown that job- and health-related factors affect adherence to such recommendations, these longitudinal associations are unknown. We examined the longitudinal associations between job- and health-related factors and visiting medical institutions after annual health checkups among Japanese employees.

Cultural Tightness-Looseness: How Was It Related to Vaccination Behavior among University Students in Japan, the United States, and India?

As a next step to better understand the role of cultural tightness-looseness (CTL), this study aimed to examine whether CTL is associated with COVID-19 vaccination behavior among university students, taking into consideration sociocultural perceptions of vaccination across countries. A global online survey was conducted. University students from Japan, the US, and India participated.

[Developing a Japanese version of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument].

Objectives　The Internet has made it possible to search for, obtain, transmit, and share information. Accordingly, the ability to use health information and skills related to interactivity taken from the Internet have become important in the medical and health fields. However, there is no scale to evaluate these abilities.

Effect of digital messages from health professionals on COVID-19-related outcomes: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Effectiveness of health professionals' messages via digital tools on COVID-19-related outcomes remains unknown. In this systematic review, we examined this issue by searching randomized controlled trials in six databases until August, 2022 (PROSPERO, CRD 42022350788). Risk of bias was assessed using revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool.

Effect modification by geographic area on the association between health literacy and self-rated health: a nationwide cross-sectional study in Japan.

Background: Health literacy (HL) has gained increasing attention as a factor related to health behaviors and outcomes. This study aimed to investigate geographic differences in HL levels and effect modification by geographic area on their relationship with self-rated health in the Japanese population using a nationwide sample.

Methods: Data for this study were derived from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey on health information access for consumers in Japan using a mailed self-administered questionnaire in 2020 (INFORM Study 2020).

Enduring Positive Impact of a Virtual Communication Skills Workshop of VitalTalk Pedagogy in a Non-U.S. Setting.

Context: While in-person workshops on serious illness communication skills using VitalTalk pedagogy have been shown to have a long-lasting impact, whether changing the format into virtual would maintain its enduring impact is unknown. Objectives. To examine long-term impacts of a virtual VitalTalk communication workshop.

Association between health indifference and problem drinking using a nationwide internet survey.

Background: Little is known about the vulnerable populations and problem drinking in terms of health inequality. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health indifference estimated by Health Interest Scale (HIS) and problem drinking identified by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT).

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing data from a nationwide internet survey in Japan in 2022.

Association between watching wide show as a reliable COVID-19 information source and preventive behaviors: A nationwide survey in Japan.

Introduction: Current pandemic prompted a surge in the television (TV) news watching. However, its influence is poorly understood. In Japan, wide show, a major genre of soft news TV programs, broadcasted COVID-19 for long hours, and was pointed out that it broadcasted COVID-19 sensationally, arousing fear and anxiety, and that it criticized individuals gathering in closed places.

The process of Transformative Learning in Dialog Café with Health Professionals and Citizens/Patients.

Introduction: Dialogue Café, which is an inclusive process that provides a platform for the exchange of ideas or perspectives on certain issues, is a suitable approach to facilitating mutual understanding between health professionals and citizens/patients. However, little is known about the effects of the Dialogue Café on participants in the context of health communication. Previous studies suggest that transformative learning occurs after dialogue.

Health literacy and COVID-19-related beliefs and behaviors: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population.

Since the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), health communication has played a critical role in the process of disease prevention. Based on the concepts of health literacy and protection motivation theory, this study longitudinally examined the relationship between general health literacy measured immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, and COVID-19-related information utilization, health literacy, beliefs and protective behaviors during the subsequent year in the Japanese general population. The participants were 767 Japanese residents who completed self-administered questionnaire surveys in January 2020 and February 2021.

Using patient storytelling to improve medical students' empathy in Japan: a pre-post study.

Background: Empathy for patients is now internationally accepted as one of the competencies of physicians for patient-centered medical practice and an essential component of medical education. Recently, "patient storytelling" has attracted attention in empathy education for medical students to understand patients' experiences, feelings, and perspectives. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate how patient storytelling enhanced undergraduate medical students' empathy in Japan to the extent that they sustained it for six months.

Culturally Acceptable Emotional Expressions Perceived by Non-U.S. Physicians Undergoing U.S.-Based Serious Illness Communication Skills Training: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Context: Responding to emotions is a key feature of U.S.-based serious illness communication skills training, VitalTalk, of which trained actors portraying seriously ill patients is a component.

Patterns of alcohol and alcohol-flavoured non-alcoholic beverage advertisements over Japanese free-to-air television networks.

Background: Alcohol use is a serious public health challenge worldwide. Japan has no government regulations or legal penalties against advertising alcoholic beverages on television (TV). Instead, advertisements depend on the Japanese alcohol industry's self-regulation on airtime (no advertisements from 5 am to 6 pm) and the content of alcoholic beverages, which must not tempt minors.

The relationship between evaluation of shared decision-making by pet owners and veterinarians and satisfaction with veterinary consultations.

Background: Communication skills are a necessary competency in veterinary medicine, and shared decision-making (SDM) between practitioners and patients is becoming increasingly important in veterinary practice as in human medicine. There are few studies that have quantitatively measured SDM in veterinary health care, and the relationship between SDM and consultation satisfaction is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of SDM implementation in veterinary hospitals and the relationship between SDM implementation and consultation satisfaction among pet owners.

Associations between job and workplace factors, health and physical factors, personal factors, and presenteeism among general employees in Japan: A longitudinal study.

Objective: Presenteeism is gaining attention as an occupational health issue in Japan. However, few studies have longitudinally examined the associations between work- and health-related factors and presenteeism using validated instruments in Japan. Drawing on a theoretical framework, we aimed to examine longitudinal associations between job and workplace factors, health and physical factors, personal factors, and presenteeism among Japanese general employees.

Effect of Different Educational Interventions on Knowledge of HPV Vaccination and Cervical Cancer among Young Women: A Preliminary Report.

The incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer are rising among young women in Japan. In November 2021, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare reinstated the active recommendation for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which was discontinued in June 2013 due to reports of adverse reactions, including chronic pain and motor dysfunction, following vaccination. However, vaccine hesitancy among the younger generation remains, and it is essential to identify the barriers in vaccination uptake.

Declines in health literacy and health-related quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study of the Japanese general population.

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of health literacy (HL) was addressed by public health researchers. We longitudinally examined the changes in general HL and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak and 1 year later, and how general HL before the outbreak was related to changes in HRQOL in the Japanese general population.

Methods: Among the Japanese residents aged 20-79 years who participated in our previous study in 2017, 826 were followed-up via self-administered questionnaires in January 2020 and February 2021, for the purposes of this study.

Improving and maintaining healthy lifestyles are associated with a lower risk of diabetes: A large cohort study.

Aims: It is well known that healthy lifestyles measured at one time-point are inversely associated with diabetes risk. The impact of transitions in combined lifestyles in real settings remains unknown.

Materials And Methods: The trajectory patterns of combined lifestyles over three years were identified using group-based trajectory modeling in 26,647 adults in Japan.

The Feasibility of Virtual VitalTalk Workshops in Japanese: Can Faculty Members in the US Effectively Teach Communication Skills Virtually to Learners in Japan?

Background: VitalTalk is an established training program for serious illness conversations in the US. Previously, this training course has been provided in-person in Japanese, but never virtually.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility of a virtually administered VitalTalk workshop in Japanese.