Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Research Articles

ANALYSIS ON JOCV NURSES DISPATCHED CORRESPOND WITH THE REQUEST OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) was founded in 1965 as part of the international cooperation efforts of the Japanese Government. JOCV nurses have been sent at the request of developing countries since 1966. Not all of the requests can be met, although more than ten times of the requested number of nurses make an application to works as volunteers. We are trying to analyze their categories (registered nurses : RNs, nurse midwives : NMs, and public health nurses : PHNs) and the number of volunteer nurses corresponding to requests between 1975 and 1996 for international cooperation.A total of 1436 volunteer nurses have been requested and 936 corresponding nurses (65.2%) were dispatched. The corresponding rates were 74.8% for RNs, 52.4% for NMs, and 56.3% for PHNs. One reason for the low rate of PHNs seemed to be difficulty in finding employment after their return to Japan, while a low rate of sufficiency of NMs during first years might influence the result. With activity areas the sufficiency rate of education and administration was low. It is necessary to improve the welfare and support system after their return and to prepare on environment evaluating their experiences in international cooperation.

Classification of Obstructing Factors in the Lives and Works Overseas: A Case Study of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers

Classification of Obstructing Factors in the Lives and Works Overseas: A Case Study of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers

Prophylaxis of acute viral hepatitis by immune serum globulin, hepatitis B vaccine, and health education: a sixteen year study of Japan overseas cooperation volunteers.

From 1978 to 1993 a study of acute viral hepatitis contracted by the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) during their assignments in tropical and subtropical countries was conducted. Of 10,509 subjects in this study, 240 cases of acute viral hepatitis were confirmed (hepatitis A = 139, hepatitis B = 72, and non-A, non-B hepatitis = 29). The annual morbidity was 5.1% in 1978 and 4.9% in 1979, with hepatitis A accounting for 80% of the cases. However, it decreased significantly after the prophylactic inoculation with immune serum globulin (ISG) was started in 1980. A significant decrease of hepatitis B from 1.2% in 1980 to 0.1% in 1990 was also seen after vaccination was introduced for all volunteers in 1988. Health education concerning food and water sanitation, and providing general information on viral hepatitis, was also conducted throughout this period. These results indicate that acute viral hepatitis could be successfully prevented in the JOCV with a combination of ISG, hepatitis B vaccination, and health education.

A Study of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers' Adaptation at their Posted Workplace

A Study of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers' Adaptation at their Posted Workplace

Activity of J.O.C.V (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers) in Honduras

Activity of J.O.C.V (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers) in Honduras

Diseases and laboratory findings of Japanese staying long periods in tropical and subtropical countries Three year study on the japan overseas cooperation volunteers.

With the purpose of investigating the major diseases and the main problems in health management among the Japanese staying for a long period in tropical and subtropical countries, an epidemiological survey was made on the diseases and clinical laboratory data of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) who lived in and extended technical cooperation to the developing countries. Of the major health problems found in a total of 1, 469 subjects (1, 085 males and 384 females), malaria (101 cases), acute hepatitis (94 cases), chronic diarrhea/enteritis (78 cases) and traffic accidents (71 cases) ranked high. Suspecting that many cases of malaria and dengue fever were not reported, further investigation was carried out and it was revealed that the incidence of clinical malaria ranged from 38.1 to 66.7 per cent in tropical African countries. The incidence of malaria was 36.5 per cent in those who regularly took a combination of sulfamonomethoxine-pyrimethamine while it was 50.4 per cent in those who took the combination irregularly or not at all. Many cases with intestinal parasites (30.7%), eosinophilia (5.9%), and abnormal hepatic function (5.4%) were detected upon their return to Japan. The incidence of mental disorders and venereal diseases was suspected to be considerably higher than the number of cases reported. Among the so-called “tropical diseases”, a high incidence of malaria and infectious diseases of the digestive organs was observed. Prevention of those diseases is, needless to say, important but in view of the high rates of hepatitis, mental diseases, venereal diseases, traffic accidents and aggravation or recurrence of chronic diseases which were present before their overseas assignment, it is also important to take steps to prevent such problems when Japanese, especially young people, stay in tropical or subtropical countries.The diseases and accidents which the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers suffered from during their two years of assignment overseas in tropical and subtropical countries were analyzed and the following conclusions were obtained.1) Endemic diseases such as malaria, hepatitis, diarrheal diseases, dengue and other arbo-virus diseases are important and frequent diseases among the Japanese staying in tropical or subtropical countries. Efforts should be made to give the youths instructions in preventing them before their departure to those countries.2) Knowledge about and ways of preventing traffic accidents, mental health and the recurrence of other non-tropical diseases which the youths had suffered in the past, such as peptic ulcer, dental caries, hypertension, and neurotic diseases should be given equal emphasis.3) The conclusions and suggestions apply not only to the JOCV but also to other Japanese or subjects in non-endemic, well developed countries who go to tropical and subtropical countries and stay there for some time.

青年海外協力隊員の消化器系寄生虫検査成績（１９８１，１９８２）

The stool examinations on long-term visiters to developing countries were carried out to investigate the epidemiology of parasitosis imported to Japan. The subjects of the investigation were 716 Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers who returned in 1981-1982. The infection rates of parasitosis among the volunteers before departure (Yamaura et al., 1981) were compared as controls of this survey. Formalin-ether sedimentation method, zinc sulfate centrifugation-flotation method and Harada & Mori's test-tube cultivation method were used for stool examination. Rizopoda was identified by Hydenhain's iron-hematoxylin staining.The results are summarized in Table 1 and Table 2 : 1) The infection rates among returned volunteers (28.4% in 1981 and 23.2% in 1982) were much higher than the rate before departure (2.5%, 5/198) (Table 1). No relation between infection rate and sex of the volunteers was recognized.2) The highest infection rate was found for Giardia lamblia (12.6%, 90/716). Entamoeba histolytica was observed in 2.2 per cent (16/716). High infection rate of E. histolytica was observed among the volunteers returned from Ghana (14.7%, 5/34). More than two species of parasites were found in 20.7 per cent of positive cases (Table 2).3) The infection rates of volunteers returned from Bangradesh and from Nepal were 68.0 per cent and 56.1 per cent respectively.These two rates were found to be significantly higher than that from other 24 countries. The ratio of helminth infection to protozoa infection in African and Central-and South American countries was lower than that in Asian and Oceanian countries (Table 2).