The Feasibility analysis of Disease Management Programs in Japan

-The Literature Review in the Occupational Health Setting-

Abstract

In May, 2006, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare published a part of the results of the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions of the People on Health and Welfare 2005. The report has clarified that one of two men and two of five women from 40 to 74 years old are regarded as the Metabolic syndrome or suspicious cases. In order to counteract these situations, much concern is given for the Disease management programs that have been developed in the USA. In Japan, traditionally a various health promotion activities have been organized in the occupational setting under the Occupational safety and Health Law. These activities can be regarded as disease management (DM) programs. In this perspective, the authors have conducted a literature review about health promotion programs conducted in the occupational setting. The authors have reviewed 30 articles by the formative evaluation using DM concept. In fact there were many DM like programs conducted in the Japanese workplaces. However, it is very difficult to develop the effective DM program directly from these experiences under the actual situation. The most important problem to be solved is the fact that there is no standardized methodology for intervention and evaluation. The authors concluded that it might be pragmatic to develop the Japanese DM programs based on the experiences in occupational settings with combination of the American sophisticated DM framework.