Infectious Diseases that People Should be Informed : A Delphi Survey of Clinicians Engaged in Practice of Infectious Diseases in Japan

Abstract

Objective : To identify specific infectious diseases about which the Japanese public should be informed. Materials and Methods : A Delphi survey was conducted, recruiting 26 physicians who are engaged in clinical practice of infectious diseases and working at designated medical institutions of infectious diseases in Japan. Results : Following HIV/AIDS (first ranked), tuberculosis (second) and influenza (third), 24 diseases in total were identified based on “knowledge, awareness and behavior of inhabitants ”or “social and clinico epidemiological circumstances”. Scores for the top three ranked diseases were more than two-folds of those for following diseases. Among the top 10 ranked diseases, 9 were in common with the previous survey result among public health physicians and veterinarians working for governmental agencies. Discussion : Our findings of scores for specific diseases most likely reflect an importance of performing preventions and early diagnoses of severe diseases and promoting prophylaxis for travelersʼdiseases which tend to be factors for prioritizing infectious diseases among clinicians. The top-scored diseases among clinicians were consistent with those among public health officers, indicating the critical need to inform the public about these diseases. Nevertheless, both clinicians and public health experts have already attempted to promote preventions and/or treatment for these diseases in the previous time, and thus, the previous experience must be critically reviewed and reconsidered for improvements. In future, the similar surveys to ours should target specific subjects of experts and investigate more specific types of infectious diseases. Following such an expert survey, concrete action plans to inform the public about prioritized diseases are also called for.