2022 Volume 31 Issue 1 Pages 43-46
Recognition of the data on cancer screening in the workplaces in Japan is complicated because the structure of cancer screening in the workplaces relies on insurers or business owners, regarded as employee benefits, due to absence of any Acts, which has led to a large variety of issues on the screening program. In addition, lack of systems to regularly compile the numbers of objectives and participation rates has made it complicated to compute the participation rates and conduct the quality control, resulting in many issues on the types and examinations of cancer screening, quality controls, and how to handle personal health information. To proceed the evidence-based cancer screening programs in the workplaces as well as the population-based cancer screening in municipalities, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare published “the Manual for cancer screening in the workplaces” in March, 2018. The manual demonstrates the types and examinations of cancer screening, quality controls, and how to handle personal health information. We require uniform systems for collecting and assessing the data on cancer screening in order to continuously provide the effective cancer screening in the workplaces. Additionally, the Ministry has been tackling the investigation of the condition around cancer screening in the workplaces and novel proposition of the indicator for quality control through the Health Labour Sciences Research. The manual needs to be widely spread into the insurers and business owners, and the uniform structure for data management needs to be prepared.
