Purpose

  To clarify experiences and social networks of Vietnamese women living in Japan during pregnancy and childcare.

Methods

  We conducted semi-structured interviews with five Vietnamese women who gave birth and raised their children in Japan, despite not speaking Japanese at the time of childbirth. Using a prepared interview guide, we asked them to share their pregnancy and childcare experiences, and how they gathered information through social networks.

Results & Discussion

  The average age of study participants was 32.2 years (range: 29 to 35 years). The average length of stay in Japan was 7.2 years (range: 4 to 12 years). We generated fourteen categories to clarify their pregnancy and childcare experiences, and eight categories to shed light on their social networks.

  Although the study participants were satisfied with Japan’s health checkup and vaccination systems, they experienced anxiety owing to differences in delivery management practices between Japan and Vietnam, and felt that childcare support in Japan did not meet their expectations. These may be due to the unclear role of public health nurses.

  Social networks primarily consisted of “carefully chosen relationships”. They relied on their husbands and gathered information independently, using both the internet and advice from fellow Vietnamese. They recognized the value of Japan’s childcare support when given opportunities to connect. As their children grew, they gradually expanded their relationships with Japanese people.

Conclusions

  We found that the women had a favorable view of Japan’s health checkup and vaccination systems. However, they were anxious because Japan’s delivery management practices differed from those of Vietnam. The role of public health nurses was unclear. Their social networks consisted of carefully chosen relationships with both Japanese and fellow Vietnamese, primarily sourcing information from fellow Vietnamese and the internet.

Objective

  Many NGOs have been established with the primary goal of improving the health of impoverished people in low- and middle-income countries. One NGO in Germany (Organization A) provides medical support to children in these regions. This study aimed to examine the effects of medical support provided by Organization A and the involvement of occupational therapists in a single case.

Methods

  The subject is a resident of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who received medical support from Organization A. Information on the medical support provided to him was collected from the medical records of Organization A. An interview was conducted with him to assess his physical and mental functions, basic movements, activities of daily living, and social participation after returning to his home country from Germany.

Result

  With contractures and shortening in nearly all limbs, the subject underwent eight hospitalizations and treatments during three trips to Germany. After each discharge, he received occupational therapy at Organization A’s facility. Medical support led to improvements in his physical functions and activities. Just prior to last return to Uzbekistan, he was independent in indoor wheelchair mobility and could eat independently with appropriate environmental adjustments. According to the interview, he was currently living as a university student and a businessman and was also engaged in community events. However, he now required assistance for most activities of daily living.

Conclusion

  After returning to Uzbekistan, the subject lost independence and required assistance with daily activities. One possible factor is that rehabilitation-related information may not have been adequately provided to his parents at the time of return. It was suggested that in cross-border rehabilitation, it is necessary to consider the knowledge of rehabilitation of the people involved, as well as the subjects, and the differences in the medical and social environments before and after the information is provided.

  In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Health Handbook for Vietnamese Workers in Japan was developed in 2022. It was commissioned by the Vietnam office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and written by Japanese medical professionals under the Bureau of International Health Cooperation of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM-BIHC), in collaboration with Migrants’ Neighbor Network & Action (MINNA), and finalized with input from Vietnamese healthcare workers. With a view to future multilingualization of the web-based handbook and a focus on its potential usefulness as a health communication tool for promoting behavioral changes, we evaluated the Japanese web-based handbook using a Japanese version of Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). PEMAT is widely used to evaluate understandability and actionability of patient education materials including for immigrants. The scores for understandability and for actionability were 81.3% and 66.7% respectively. Some of the suggestions to improve actionability included changes in layout and the use of flowcharts. The use of the evaluation tool enabled stakeholders to share evaluation criteria and discuss areas for improvement. However, since cultural tailoring is not covered by the PEMAT, it is necessary to gather feedback from Vietnamese individuals currently working or planning to work in Japan.