A survey of pharmacy students’ and liberal arts students’ attitudes toward identifying diseases that can be effectively prevented using genetic analysis was performed using a multiple-choice questionnaire. We defined the diseases that can be prevented using genetic analysis and found that, for these diseases, the rate of selecting “do nothing” by people with disease-related genes was significantly lower than that of people for whom the genetic influence was unknown. We found that the nine conditions that we investigated (i.e., obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypocholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, arteriosclerosis, cancer, and liver disease) are diseases that can be effectively prevented using genetic analysis for all students. We also observed that the most common answer for disease prevention was related to dietary changes (including drinking restrictions). In conclusion, through our unique questionnaire, we identified various diseases that can be effectively prevented using genetic analysis. However, it was found that the act of answering a multiple-choice questionnaire does not improve knowledge of disease prevention measures. Therefore, we propose that, after the questionnaire, it is important to distribute written material that explains the cause of life-style-related diseases and their prevention in order to foster knowledge about disease prevention.

Although pharmacy students receive professional education regarding dementia, it is the current state that many pharmacy students cannot learn the countermeasures to treat people with dementia. We conducted the “Otani dementia supporter education lecture” which improved a lecture by Caravan Mate targeting pharmacy students, and subjected the students to a questionnaire survey after the lecture. One hundred and forty-nine students participated and there were most percentages of third grades by 40.9%. After attending the lecture, most of the students opined that one can help a patient with dementia by understanding the patients’ feeling. It was the answer obtained by the lecture for the students to ensure that a pharmacist responds to consultations and requests from their family with a dementia patient. The first information that the students additionally wanted to know about dementia pertained to a method for the early detection of dementia. The results of text mining on the correspondence for patient with dementia showed that categories of “dementia patient,” “correspondence,” “understanding the patients’ feeling,” and “tact,” independently had strong mutual relations. Moreover, the results of text mining on the feedbacks obtained for the lecture showed that categories such as “dementia patient,” “When close person and one were,” “A chance was obtained,” and “correspondence” independently had significant mutual relations. Students who participate in this lecture understand that it is necessary to contact with dementia patients appropriately and feel that there is a need to become a presence that can support dementia patients as a pharmacist in the future. Therefore, this lecture was effective in motivation to correspondence to a person with dementia.

In Japan, the model core curriculum for pharmacy education was revised in 2013 and a topic related to pharmacoeconomics was added. A questionnaire survey was conducted to clarify the current situation of teaching this topic in schools of pharmacy. In an annual meeting of social pharmacy education in October 2017, a purpose this survey was explained and asked someone who had taught this topic in each school to answer questions. A total of 61 schools responded by mails or e-mails among 74 schools across Japan (82.4% response rate). About 68% of schools, the topic was taught as a part of required subjects. Main keywords related to analytical methods such as cost-effectiveness, ICER, and QALY were covered at 90% and over of all schools. However, utilization for healthcare decision making process was rarely discussed with case analysis (21.6%). Only limited schools answered that they included keywords of HTA and guideline. More than 90% of schools showed that preparation of syllabus and slides for the lecture was helpful. The survey indicated that contents taught in each school differed across schools and an appropriate educational tool would be required to standardize way of teaching under the core curriculum requirements.

As part of the “Project to Promote Utilization of Pharmacies and Pharmacists as a Health Information Base” commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Saga Pharmaceutical Association carried out a self-measurement of blood glucose project in FY2014 and 2015. The present state of the Bioanalytical Labs in community pharmacies that participated in the self-measurement of blood glucose project nearly one and a half years ago was investigated. This project aimed to establish Bioanalytical Labs inside the community pharmacies to recommend hospital checkups to local residents based on the test results of self-measured blood glucose. In this study, a survey was given to those pharmacies to evaluate the present utilization status of the Bioanalytical Labs. About half of the pharmacies had canceled their Lab designation (46.4%). The most frequent reason for not continuing the designation was “Number of staff engaged in the measurement”, and that for continuing the designation, “To contribute to local residents self-medication”(53.6%). These pharmacies still promote self-measurements of blood glucose and encourage checkups to local residents who are above standard blood glucose levels and HbA1c and could be at risk of developing diabetes. Based on the above results, pharmacies that are continuing the Bioanalytical Labs have been shown to be used as bases for health support information in their local community. Therefore, while the shortage of pharmacists in rural areas is being pointed out, even from the viewpoint of promoting health support pharmacies, it is necessary to discuss seriously on how to secure the personnel required for continuing the Bioanalytical Labs.