This study revealed certain health issues and illness behaviors of foreign workers living in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. We collected responses to our questionnaires from 317 foreign workers from 41 factories. The results are summarized as follows:
1. The incidences of signs and symptoms of poor health were high among foreign workers. Most signs and symptoms seemed to be related to physical and psychological stresses in daily life and work. The incidences of work-related injury and disease were also high.
2. A quarter of the foreign workers polled did not visit clinics or hospitals regardless of their suffering from severe illness, mainly because of heavy work duties, language barriers and high medical costs.
3. Foreign workers most often visited clinics, pharmacies and hospitals, when they suffered from illness. They would not pay more than \10, 000 for an outpatient medical visit or \100, 000 for admission or for total medical costs.
4. Sixty percent of foreign workers had difficulty in communicating with doctors, even in English. This situation made foreign workers hesitant to visit clinics and hospitals in Japan.
5. Forty percent of foreign workers did not enroll in a health insurance system, but half of them felt it was necessary to do so.
6. Fifty-four percent of foreign workers were psychologically unstable. Emergency psychological care should be applied in some cases, such as potential suicide cases.
