ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to obtain information on the degree of knowledge and understanding about the current systems of health care and welfare held by the elderly, in order to achieve comprehensiveness in family practice. METHOD: We conducted a study on the awareness of healthy elderly persons by direct interview. The study was carried out in Kuni Village in a remote mountainous region in Japan, where the elderly population accounts for 24.8% of the total population. The subjects were self-dependent in their daily living activities and were aged 65 years and older. RESULTS: The subjects' knowledge of health care and welfare systems was generally good, and the degree of their utilization of these systems was also good. But 83.3% of those who did not want to utilize the welfare system indicated their preference to depend on their family for support. CONCLUSION: Family physicians must endeavour to offer comprehensive care to their patients by including these systems for rapidly ageing communities.
Subject(s)
Aged/psychology , Attitude to Health , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Social Welfare , Educational Measurement , Family , Humans , Japan , Population Growth , Social Support , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the usefulness of mutual rotation by family physicians in providing an evaluation of rural medical practices. METHODS: Between June and October 1994, each of four family physicians rotated to the practices of the other three, where they worked as a transient locum for 4-5 days and evaluated each practice. They were field faculty physicians of the Department of Community and Family Medicine, Jichi Medical School, and based at general practices accredited for undergraduate and postgraduate training. Two school-based faculty physicians also participated in the study as spare members. RESULTS: The rotation was conducted four times to complete the mutual rotation programme. There was some difference in evaluation among the practices, which indicated the characteristics of the practices. The evaluation accorded relatively well among the participants. CONCLUSIONS: Mutual rotation by family physicians provides an objective and practicable evaluation of general practices and contribute to upholding their quality, which is crucial to medical education.
Subject(s)
Faculty, Medical/supply & distribution , Family Practice/standards , Peer Review, Health Care/methods , Personnel Staffing and Scheduling , Physicians, Family/supply & distribution , Practice Patterns, Physicians'/standards , Rural Health Services/standards , Family Practice/education , Humans , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
The peanut agglutinin (PNA) receptors isolated from a tumor cell line could elicit antitumor activity by an active immunization. We report here the results of active immunization with a human PNA receptor glycoprotein on the tumor progression of cancer patients. A remarkable regression of cancer and a prolonged life span in patients were obtained after active immunization with a tumor cell-associated carbohydrate antigen.
