Comprehensive Medicine
Online ISSN : 2434-687X
Print ISSN : 1341-7150
Volume 16, Issue 1
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Original Paper
  • Takashi Tatsuse, Junko Fujimori, Yoshiteru Nakamori, Sadanobu Kagamimo ...
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 2-16
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Objective: In the midst of population aging, Japan has been aiming to create a society in which the elderly can be active and healthy. Measures are promoted under the slogan that reads “the realization of a society where the elderly people can have Ikigai, or meaning of life.” Here, the key themes are what past health policies have not dealt with, such as autonomy and active involvement of older people. Based on this social background, we conducted “Care Will” research since 2011. Our research focus has been on the creation of meaning of life, health issues, and developmental tasks in old age. We carried out a support program with interest in preretirement, which is a significant period of transition from work to retirement. Method: The purpose of this research was to set up a support program for those who were approaching retirement age. This action research was conducted in the following sequence: development and practice, collective feedback of problems, and evaluation of the program. Results: The “Care Will” course was developed as a part of the preretirement support program. Following the process of knowledge creation, we helped the participants to first make their subconscious minds and values into explicit knowledge, then make plans for resetting goals, and finally share the plans with each other. Since we held and reviewed the course for three consecutive years, we found that retirement would change their experiences of places and relationships, so we made it a central issue of the course. Moreover, running the course and having feedback allowed us to realize the importance of giving support to people with existential health. Accordingly, we organized a curriculum that reflected our findings. The evaluation of the program showed that there were improvements in the sense of general self-efficacy and the sense of meaning of life, and a significant rise in the scores of existential value. In addition, interest in retirement increased after course attendance. Conclusions: Having conducted action research into preretirement support for three years, we confirmed the validity of the Care Will program designed to support the will to live a fulfilling life in old age. Above all, the program was adequately proved suitable for the treatment of existential anxiety, which was one of major health issues reported by participants. The research process confirmed the importance of support for a more satisfying life after retirement, as preretirement is marked by a significant shift in places and roles. The effectiveness of our approach was also verified.

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Review Article
  • Kenichirou Inomata
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 17-21
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    It is conceivable that an individual could attain good health throughout life without the help of medical facilities. The human body possesses the power to natural reversible healing and homeostasis. The home-discipline, anatomical practice and clinical practice have all been cited as the education of proper medical doctor. The mother trains an inhibitory behavior throughout 3 years old child. The anatomical practice gives the awareness as the medical doctor. The hospitality corresponding to the patient is obtained by the clinical practice. The preferable hospitality of the medical doctor is as follows. They have a flexible and wrapping attitude with a smile. When they examine the patient, first of all, they grasp the character of the patient, and give a reasonable account for cause, treatment and prognostic distance of illness shortly and clearly.

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  • Hideo Anzai
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 22-32
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In the United States, various ambitious movements have been being taken place in the field of healthcare. While it is not impossible to suppose their respective outlines from such keywords representing those initiatives as “Complementary Medicine,” “Integrated Medicine,” “Telemedicine” and “Precision Medicine,” it is not easy to understand their mutual relationships and overall trends in a broader perspective. As a matter of fact, there is another keyword in recent healthcare in the US, “Patient-Centered Medicine,” which didn't attract much attention in Japan since it sounded too ordinary and commonplace. In this article, we attempt to describe the recent trends of US healthcare in a comprehensive manner using the history and practice of “Patient-Centered Medicine” as a clue. In conclusion, we report that “Patient-Centered Medicine” being promoted in the US these days is a very innovative one which may totally change paradigm of healthcare, and it may be called as “Comprehensive Medicine in American Way.”

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  • Hiroko Hashimoto
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 33-40
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    It is often said that fibromyalgia patients are difficult to understand. One reason is that doctors do not have enough time for each patients in clinical settings. Another reason is that medical professionals and patients have different perspectives and goals. Patients have a strong desire to be relieved of pain as soon as possible, or expect genuine understanding of their suffering from doctors in their relentless pursuit of cure. Difficult questions are asked by patients, who are impatient to know if they ever get better or never recover, if there is a wonder drug, who can cure them, and more. This is perfectly understandable from a patient's perspective.

    Moreover, patients have unbearable pain, anxiety, fear of losing their jobs if they do not return to work soon, financial burdens of long-term medical care, consideration for family members, and the experience of pain before they developed fibromyalgia. In short, they have accumulated a lot of stories to talk about. To listen to their whole stories attentively, a considerable amount of time and placidity on the part of a counsellor are required. Though treatment for fibromyalgia is a time-consuming process, it is imperative to first create a clinical environment which allows therapists to spend enough time with their patients.

    In this paper, the author introduces some of the stories told by patients on our telephone counselling, which illustrate difficulties and fears they are experiencing, and their anguish and struggle to be cured.

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  • Shuichi Miyabe
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 41-46
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    A severe earthquake occurred in Kumamoto and as earthquake victims, or HISAISHA in Japanese, we experienced great distress. How can Logotherapy help victims get over their existential critical moment. It is possible this traumatic experience could be beneficial for someone later. But it is not easy to recognize and accept a meaning as well as changing one's attitude or state of mind in crisis. Hagino said that resilient people, having the ability to bounce back from a negative experience, develop a good relationship with the people who help them cope with their crises and find positive aspects even under highly conditions. Frankl said humans who can realize that a purpose or meaning in life is found in work or carring out a task can overcome social disadvantage and mental pain. The research is focused on recovering from the Earthquake and how Logotherapy can increase resilience.

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Case Report
  • -The Realization and Activation of the Patient's Will to Meaning-
    Satoko Shiwa, Katsutaro Nagata, Chika Otsuki, Kuniko Amemiya, Yoshimi ...
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 47-54
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Fibromyalgia syndrome(FMS)is one of the most misunderstood functional disorders. A number of patients with FMS are in agony because their conditions are rarely understood and treated properly by health care providers. Functional disorders develop as a result of disturbed homeostasis in the body. Case: The patient was a female in her 50's with FMS and orthostatic hypotension. She had looked after her parents for 10 years before they passed away. Since their death, however, she has been afflicted with the sense of emptiness, the sense of uselessness and resultant weak self-efficacy. It led to suicidal ideation. Results: We listened to the patient, trying to see her self-contempt in a positive light. With our encouragement, she became responsive and made an effort to do what she could despite pain. While reflecting on her parents and how they influenced her personality, she was reminded of a book by Viktor Frankl. Reading it again helped her find the will to meaning, after which the focus of therapy shifted to her meaning of life. Conclusion: The combination of Balint medical interview and logotherapy allowed the patient to take a courageous step to fulfill her meaning of life. We consider that our whole person approach made a positive contribution to it.

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W.H.O. Lecture series
  • Meaning as a Healing Factor for Life-Style-Related-Diseases
    Harald Mori
    2017 Volume 16 Issue 1 Pages 55-72
    Published: December 25, 2017
    Released on J-STAGE: April 19, 2019
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    In 2007 the door to the future of induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSC)for the application in human medicine was opened by later Japanese Nobel prize winner(2012)Dr. Shinya Yamanaka.

    The increasingly rapid development of medicine urges helping professions of all kind to create a sufficient and multidimensional way of integrating modern research into contemporary and comprehensive medicine.

    This holistic approach to the daily needs of our patients despite so many promising medical developments faces a lot of threats against health, happiness and a meaningful life.

    Nowadays medicine is confronted with a rapidly growing number of diseases caused by “Self-destructive life-style”(Nagata, 1999).

    “Patient- and disease-specific iPSCs are clearly the ideal tool for efficiently characterizing the individual phenotype, while also disentangling the confounding influences of environment and lifestyle”(JAMA, 4/2015).

    These diseases are linked with the way, how people live their life. The abuse of alcohol, drugs and also smoking reduces the quality of life(QOL)a lot and leads to deaths ahead of time. Lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating and behavior, such as being addicted to excessive computer gaming disconnects people from what really matters in life. They live more and more in virtuality than in real creative life and nature.

    The scientific results of iPSC technology promise in a way, that in the upcoming decades many diseases will be treated successfully by this new medical interventions. Cancer, coronary heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, strokes and other medical disorders will affect our patients and iPSC technology will probably be seen as a comfortable repair shop and service center. But this will only be one side of the coin.

    The other side is the large field of mental illnesses, of chronic diseases and of the influential and basal difficulties of those patients, who are disappointed, frustrated, desperate and embittered of life.

    Their search for meaning in life will be increasingly ineffective and they will suffer and sometimes have suicidal ideas.

    So beside wonderful medical improvements and developing civilization in industrialized countries, helping professions will more than ever have to care about the human soul, the psyche and the spiritual dimension in life.

    Viktor Frankl, the founder of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis described these dimensions as “existential” and specifically human.

    If we want patients to change and improve their life style we will have to give them a motivation, a goal to reach and we will have to train them in creating a meaningful life every day.

    Beside the factors of the human constitution, of hereditary influences and of personality the human behavior is the most limiting factor in living a healthy life. Our behavior influences our life style and the “core of life style is meaning”(Nagata).

    Viktor Frankl had deep respect for the human ability to realize values in life. He found, that turning “possibilities into realities” is the most influential factor for finding a purpose and meaning in life.

    Living meaningfully not only means to reach an improvement in the mood and in quality of life.

    It also means to influence and stabilize our immunological system, even in the deep somatic level.

    iPSC technology means also precision medicine and in this new era of medicine, the individualized approach to disease and healing is the goal.

    “It is hoped, that new data-driven disease taxonomies coupled with targeted therapies will transform medicine into an efficient and modern enterprise”(JAMA, 4/2015).

    View PDF for the rest of the abstract

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