Labour Sciences Research Grant Research Articles

Establishing Disaster Medical Assistance Teams in Japan

The large number casualties caused by the 1995 Great Hanshin and Awaji Earthquake created a massive demand for medical care. However, as area hospitals also were damaged by the earthquake, they were unable to perform their usual functions. Therefore, the care capacity was reduced greatly. Thus, the needs to: (1) transport a large number of injured and ill people out of the disaster-affected area; and (2) dispatch medical teams to perform such wide-area transfers were clear. The need for trained medical teams to provide medical assistance also was made clear after the Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake in 2004. Therefore, the Japanese government decided to establish Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), as "mobile, trained medical teams that rapidly can be deployed during the acute phase of a sudden-onset disaster". Disaster Medical Assistance Teams have been established in much of Japan. The provision of emergency relief and medical care and the enhancement and promotion of DMATs for wide-area deployments during disasters were incorporated formally in the Basic Plan for Disaster Prevention in its July 2005 amendment. The essential points pertaining to DMATs were summarized as a set of guidelines for DMAT deployment. These were based on the results of research funded by a Health and Labour Sciences research grant from the, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of the Ministry of Health. The guidelines define the basic procedures for DMAT activities-for example: (1) the activities are to be based on agreements concluded between prefectures and medical institutions during non-emergency times; and (2) deployment is based on requests from disaster-affected prefectures and the basic roles of prefectures and the MHLW. The guidelines also detail DMAT activities at the disaster scene of the, support from medical institutions, and transportation assistance including "wide-area" medical transport activities, such as medical treatment in staging care units and the implementation of medical treatment onboard aircraft. Japan's DMATs are small-scale units that are designed to be suitable for responding to the demands of acute emergencies. Further issues to be examined in relation to DMATs include expanding their application to all prefectures, and systems to facilitate continuous education and training.

Updates on ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament. Quality of life (QOL) of patients with OPLL

Among the research conducted under the Health Labour Sciences Research Grant Program by the study group on ossification of spinal ligaments, we reviewed studies on patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) with regard to methods for assessing their QOL as well as the study results. Methods for assessing QOL included the use of a single question, health-related QOL scales such as the SF-36 and SF-8, and the QOL criteria used in the JOA Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) . In patients with OPLL, which is a condition characterized by pain and numbness that primarily affects the patient's lifestyle rather than survival, the degree of pain was strongly related to QOL. Among activities of daily living, transferring and bathing were strongly related to QOL. Therefore, it is important to maintain appropriate rehabilitation.

A familial childhood-onset relapsing nephrotic syndrome

A familial childhood-onset relapsing nephrotic syndrome

ACUPUNCTURE FOR DYSPHAGIA IN POSTSTROKE PATIENTS: A VIDEOFLUOROSCOPIC STUDY

ACUPUNCTURE FOR DYSPHAGIA IN POSTSTROKE PATIENTS: A VIDEOFLUOROSCOPIC STUDY

厚生科学研究「医療用具の警報装置の現状と問題点の調査研究」の目的(<特集>医療機器の警報装置)

厚生科学研究「医療用具の警報装置の現状と問題点の調査研究」の目的(<特集>医療機器の警報装置)