For making a declaration of countermeasures against the falling birth rate from the Japanese Society for Hygiene: summary of discussion in the working group on academic research strategy against an aging society with low birth rate

In 1952, the Japanese Society for Hygiene had once passed a resolution at its 22nd symposium on population control, recommending the suppression of population growth based on the idea of cultivating a healthier population in the area of eugenics. Over half a century has now passed since this recommendation; Japan is witnessing an aging of the population (it is estimated that over 65-year-olds made up 27.7% of the population in 2017) and a decline in the birth rate (total fertility rate 1.43 births per woman in 2017) at a rate that is unparalleled in the world; Japan is faced with a "super-aging" society with low birth rate. In 2017, the Society passed a resolution to encourage all scientists to engage in academic researches to address the issue of the declining birth rate that Japan is currently facing. In this commentary, the Society hereby declares that the entire text of the 1952 proposal is revoked and the ideas relating to eugenics is rejected. Since the Society has set up a working group on the issue in 2016, there have been three symposiums, and working group committee members began publishing a series of articles in the Society's Japanese language journal. This commentary primarily provides an overview of the findings from the published articles, which will form the scientific basis for the Society's declaration. The areas we covered here included the following: (1) improving the social and work environment to balance between the personal and professional life; (2) proactive education on reproductive health; (3) children's health begins with nutritional management in women of reproductive age; (4) workplace environment and occupational health; (5) workplace measures to counter the declining birth rate; (6) research into the effect of environmental chemicals on sexual maturity, reproductive function, and the children of next generation; and (7) comprehensive research into the relationship among contemporary society, parental stress, and healthy child-rearing. Based on the seven topics, we will set out a declaration to address Japan's aging society with low birth rate.

Use of In-Home Services of the Public Long-Term Care Insurance System by Elderly Foreign Residents in Osaka City: Care Managers’ Perception / 国際保健医療

Objectives  This study investigated the use of In-home services of the Public Long-Term Care (LTC) Insurance System by foreign residents in Osaka city to serve this population better.Methods  Using information from the WAMNET database, questionnaires were sent to 1,800 care managers (CMs) affiliated with 1,106 In-home Care Support Office and Community General Support Centers in Osaka city (1-4 CMs/site), and collected between February and early March 2011. The data collected were analyzed quantitatively, focusing on descriptive statistics. And fisher’s exact tests were used to evaluate the relationship between the Japanese communication skills and age, sex, and family structure.Results  We obtained answers from 460 CMs (collection rate 25.6%). The total number of foreign residents covered under the service by CMs was 590, and we analyzed the valid data of 312 foreign user’s information.   Home-Visit LTC and Day Care for LTC were most frequently used. 34.3% of CMs had difficulty communicating in Japanese, there was a higher proportion of people who had difficulty in communication with older age group (p<0.05), and noticed that nearly 60% faced economic hardship. Conclusion  Our results suggest that careful communication is required with older age groups. This indicates that there may be difficulties in communication and understanding the clients’ needs, which are necessary to create care plan and to ensure optimal utilization of the services. And it is possible to reduce the service required user charge due to the insufficient economic status. The support system should be strengthened to address communication and economic difficulties faced by foreign users of In-home services, from the standpoint of the service fairness.