The Japanese Journal of Health and Medical Sociology

Reports of ill health increased sharply following the 2004 Supreme Court ruling. We examined the relationship between Minamata disease status (MD status) and ill health among the residents living in methylmercury polluted area. We classified the 1422 residents who completed the questionnaire according to MD status: Early and Recent (received MD compensation before and after the Supreme Court decision, respectively), Not Yet and Normal (not received MD compensation and or not had health anxiety, respectively). Adjustment for confounding factor, it remained MD status difference in ill health frequency. It was concluded that MD status was associated with inequality in health. Efforts to improve the population's health in these areas should consider health effects of MD status and perception of unfairness.

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Introduction: Patient's family experience enormous grief to their lover going through the process of death. How the family faces to his/her dying lover is influenced by the process of the entire struggle of the patient. We think about a support from the standpoint of nursing before patient's death. Purpose: To derive the family's grief in patient's last time from the passage of the struggle against disease, and to consider the influence in relations between feelings of the family's grief and the nursing person. Method: The feelings of the family's grief facing to their lover's death (a case of a child patient with leukemia) were analyzed using the hermeneutic research technique. The nursing interviews between the author and the mother were performed several times from 2 years before the child's death to 1 year after, and the nursing practice record was used in the analysis. Result & conclusion: The effect that the nursing intervention to feelings of the family's grief was verified.

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This study is aimed to clarify the treatment of donor in living donor liver transplantation, exploration into the Japanese medical articles. Overviewing about transition of donors treatment, from 1989 until 2000, the case reports summarized administraton and evaluation of donor operation, and the paper about donor selection criteria were mainly published. As from 2000, adult case number overtaking infant one, the donor safety in operation was reconsidered. From 2002, the concrete approaches in order to improve donor safety were expanded. Through this investigation, we supposed execution about policy and security of donor was delayed, because of the current system commending self-regulation and uncertain treatment of the presence of donor, not being patient. Hereafter, we should discuss how the presence of donor is positioned in medical service and society.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify factors related to receiving a tuberculosis examination by homeless adults. From August to October 2005, 94 homeless adult males, who were hospitalized for free or a small charge, were surveyed by interview and questionnaire. According to the results, there was no correlation between receiving a tuberculosis examination and basic characteristics, living conditions, social support, and knowledge, attitude and behavior towards tuberculosis. Persons who answered that they would like to receive a tuberculosis examination in future were those who had a tuberculosis examination in the past year. Regarding homeless persons, it is easier for those who set a specific action target (i.e. "want to receive a tuberculosis examination") to practice a health behavior.

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