This report mainly describes the characteristics of the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Hiroshima University Faculty of Medicine, and the system of an entrance examination newly intoduced. The school provides the postgraduate courses based on a consistent education policy by pursuing the first and second terms of doctoral course. It prepares night lectures and lectures on Saturday for students who have employment, and provides “Phenix Admission Examination System” for students of higher ages.

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Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, opened in April 1998, is characterized by the faculty system composed of 6 faculties for master course and 6 faculties for doctoral course. Department of Restorative Functiology (master course) belongs to the Faculty of Sensory and Motor Control Medicine. To our department, 9 graduate school students entered at the first fiscal year, 7 at the second and 2 at the third year, and 8 students graduated as the first-term master course. Most of graduate works consist of motion analysis. Research equipments, although very poor at the opening, have improved step by step, and are frequently used not only by graduate school students but also by undergraduates for their graduation research theses. The present problems are; being short of doctoral course teachers, difficulty in continuous education of graduate school students for master course since most graduate students for doctoral course have their occupations, and the campus being too far for graduate school students who have occupations.

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Department of Health Science, Kibi International University Graduate School is composed of 2 postgraduate studies (Nursing Health and Rehabilitation Assistance), and some class works are conducted by plural teachers. As a result of this, teachers' specialities do not incline toward a specific study, and students can learn up-to-date knowledge from plural teachers. Class works are based on active educational exchanges that overcome conventional frames. The Graduate School assumes a mission of contributing to the development of new research fields such as evaluation of effectiveness induced by scientific reasons and research method of natural science, and development of a new evaluation scale.

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The report outlines the Department of Resforative Science, Graduate School of Kawasaki University of Health and Welfare; organization and characteristics of education, general information on an entrance examination, curriculum and its characteristics, school work and teaching staffs, the situation of freshmen, and research content of graduate school students.

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Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Kanazawa University has opened the Laboratory of Physical Therapy Major with the aim of proceeding the basic studies of physical therapy, and of utilizing the research results to social welfare. The Laboratory includes the majors of science in analysis of diseases, science in disability assessment, science in functional restoration and science in functional adaptation, and has been conducting first-line researches with substantial facilities and experiment equipments. The Laboratory has offered the special selection system, and widely opens the door to persons who have work.

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Education system of universities and graduate schools is now dramatically being changed. After mentioning the changes, this report introduces here the Health Sciences Program, Health and Welfare Sciences Courses of the Graduate School of International University of Health and Welfare. The contents are; purpose of establishment, study fields and scopes, curriculum content, graduate requirements, outline of an admission examination, introduction of physical therapy major, and future plans of the graduate school.

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Effectiveness of rehabilitation for elderly people at the retention period is often evaluated by their QOL or whether they lead a life worth living or not. This evaluation, however, needs experience, and the points of evaluation have frequently plagued rehabilitation staffs. In this study, we extracted descriptions based observations of well-experienced professional staffs from the chronic elderly patients' medical records, and categorized these data by the KJ-method. As a result, we developed the evaluation sheet which consisted of 11 headings, and we also found that each professional staff had different viewpoints, which resulted in biased information. Observation measures that each professional staff can wholly evaluate effectiveness of rehabilitation would be necessary.

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This study assessed relationships between changes in walking pattern, caused by applying a short leg brace (SLB), and energy efficiency. The subjects were 32 healthy young adults. In the first trial, energy efficiency during walking on a treadmill with the ordinary shoes was measured according to physiological cost index (PCI). A foot switch and an accelerometer were applied to each leg of the subject to determine of each phase in the walking cycle. In the second trial, the subjects were instructed to walk with SLB applied to the left leg, and measurements similar to the first trial were performed. The main result was as follows; the subjects whose energy efficiency increased during walking with SLB took a longer time in the swing phase in gait with SLB than in gait with the ordinary shoes. The results were discussed from the viewpoint of the hybrid massspring model which was presented in the dynamical systems approach.

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The purposes of this study were to develop Functional Movement Scale (FMS) for measuring functional limitations, and to examine the content validity. Functional movement was defined as the basic movements necessary for activities of daily living (ADL), and measurement items were selected by previous studies. The items were further assessed by 10 physical therapists using a questionnaire. After selecting 12 items; sitting balance, hand reach in sitting, standing balance, transfer, hand reach in standing, turn in standing, walking, one leg standing, stair climbing, changes of position (supine-lying to sitting, sitting to standing, sitting on floor to standing, and vice versa), and a manual for FMS measurement was developed. A total score of this scale was found ranging from 0 to 48 points. It was speculated that the relationship between ADL and basic movements exerts a cumulative structure.

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Time-motion study was performed on 8 kinds of work patterns of care-giving staffs of the facility of health care services for the elderly, and frequency and time required for transfer assisting activities were examined according to the work time and work contents. The frequency was 18.6 times and the time was 92.6 sec in average. The frequency was the highest in the periods from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. and from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., in which inpatients became more active after meals. The frequency was also the highest at night shift and before and after inpatients take a special bath (ex.: dressing and undressing). The frequency, method and the period when the transfer assisting activities were required varied with work time and work content. These results indicate that physical load of care-giving staffs highly depends on work time and work content.

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The authors report here the recommendations for the practice of the evoked EMG, H-reflex and F-wave from Guidelines of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 1999, which suggest the importance of understanding methodology for test and analysis of the evoked EMG.

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