The times given in the conference program correspond to Japan Standard Time (JST).
Getting among farmers – reflecting on the roles of HPH from the perspective of rural healthcare in Japan
Saku Central Hospital, Koumi Branch, JapanJapan Association of Rural Medicine
Dr Kazuya Yui is a managing director and a physician of the Koumi Branch of Saku Central Hospital. The hospital has been pivotal in providing quality healthcare services and health promotion activities in a rural part of Nagano prefecture in Japan. It is well known for its leading role in improving rural and community medicine.
While addressing the ongoing demographic transition of urbanization and ageing as both a hospital manager and a primary care physician at the forefront, Dr Yui also serves as a committee member of the Japan Association of Rural Medicine (JARM) and a board member of a national non-profit organization promoting community care, to extend his expertise to strengthen the contribution of hospitals in health promotion in rural and remote areas.
YUI, Kazuya
Saku Central Hospital (SCH) is renowned for its pioneering role in agricultural medicine and rural health in Japan under the exceptional leadership of Dr. Toshikazu Wakatsuki (1910-2006) with the slogan "Getting among farmers". Post-war rural Japan was impoverished, and many farmers could not access adequate medical care.
SCH proactively engaged in outreach activities aimed at health equity in these rural areas from an early stage. These included unique health promotion activities such as educational drama performances by hospital staff and hospital festivals (opening the hospital to the general public to host exhibitions on hygine and health). The mobile health check-up activities in remote areas eventually developed into comprehensive village health screening programs, demonstrating the effectiveness of early detection in improving population health. SCH actively collaborated with public health nurses from local municipalities and community health volunteers on these community activities outside the hospital. Creating healthy communities through resident autonomy was a precursor to what is now known as Primary Health Care, and remains a significant approach today.
While the migration from rural to urban areas enabled Japan's rapid economic growth post-war, it has now become a super-aged society with the longest life expectancy in the world. Urban areas have now become overpopulated, aged, with many deaths, some of whom are dying alone, which have become a social issue. On the other hand, in rural areas, the decline in the number of children and women of childbearing age is pronounced, and there are many regions where their future sustainability is at risk. Today in Japan, widening disparities and poverty, along with the significant increase in social security costs, have raised concerns about the sustainability of the medical and long-term care insurance systems. Given these various challenges to ensuring health equity, this presentation discusses how SCH has tried and will address these issues as an HPH.
Good Practice on innovative aspects of community-based preventive services and healthcare delivery: Community pharmacies in Japan (working title)