ABSTRACT
In the increasingly globalized world, developing global health competency (GHC) education by determining the required core elements for undergraduates is on the rise. A growing number of people from different backgrounds have migrated to Japan. To accommodate their various healthcare needs, potential GHC elements that facilitate Japanese GHC education should be identified. This paper aims to extract some of the key GHC elements required for students in medical and healthcare fields based on the abundant experience of Japan’s international health cooperation and to make recommendations for GHC education in Japan and worldwide. To date, Japan’s international health cooperation has cultivated a variety of competencies to realize its mission of reducing global health disparities. Japanese GHC elements are the bases of core concepts in healthcare and share commonalities with GHC elements in global communities: Cultural competency, “Go to the People”, respect for diversity, transdisciplinary collaboration, capacity building, independence, people/patient-centered healthcare, and empowerment. Comprehensive preparation of these elements is found among kabuki kurokos (black robes), people dressed in all black who assist kabuki actors onstage during performances. The black worn by the kurokos means “nothingness”; they should be invisible on stage, so as not to interfere with the performance. Kurokos understand the culture (values, behaviors, etc.) of the lead actors, manage and coordinate stage proceedings to meet the actors’ needs, and help them achieve the best performance by collaborating with other backstage workers. Kurokos’s empowering leadership competency is akin to the Western concept of servant-leadership, which emphasizes being a servant first and devoting oneself to enabling greater health and independence/autonomy among vulnerable people. Japanese educators can exemplify kuroko values by providing their students with GHC education. Japanese GHC elements can be integrated into worldwide GHC education. Spiritual care is also essential for inclusion in GHC education to develop students’ holistic care competency.
ABSTRACT
Health is heavily influenced by behavioral, social and environmental determinants as well as the biomedical characteristics of individuals. The World Health Organization announced the Health Promotion Charter in Ottawa, Canada in 1986 as a strategy to enable people to have control over and improve these health determinants. This is therefore essential to prevent disease and illness due to risky behavior as well as unsound social and natural environments. Whereas all developing countries have numerous health issues regarding behavior and environment, they need the Health Promotion strategy. Japan has so far implemented a lot of programs of health education and environment improvement to control over such determinants. Thus, Japan should promote and disseminate the Health Promotion project more in international health cooperation through official development assistance for developing countries.