Social needs have prompted the development of new teaching methods in which active learning by students is emphasized. Public health education with student participation was introduced in a nursing school. A self-evaluation survey found that students considered these public health lectures good or excellent and were interested in public health and community health nursing. We conducted an analysis with covariance analysis of linear structural equations procedure using SAS statistical software to clarify a relationships among readiness of students, their learning types, and learning satisfaction in public health. A multiple indicator multiple cause model showed that learning satisfaction was associated with readiness for interest in public health, and learning type for self-directed learning. Students satisfied with student-centered public health education felt discouraged about nursing education. Our results suggest that teachers should develop the ability to communicate with students about dissatisfaction in nursing school and to support self-directed learning and tutor-assisted learning in small groups.

Medical education in Japan has undergone dramatic changes, but nothing less than a paradigm change is required for the educational model for social medicine. In the 23 years since 1978, we have developed a community-based public health education program. The curriculum consists of a core of family health practice, student lectures, systematic teachers' lectures, participatory research on community health, and health policy-making. The community-based educational model was effective in developing students' active problem-based learning, abilities in health communication, and understanding of community needs as a biologic-psychologic-cultural-geographic complex; the empowerment of students and the community; and a comprehensive approach to the community care management which integrates health promotion and social welfare. We evaluated the community-based curriculum design, which exposes students to a wide variety of medical, social, and psychological problems in a community as a useful public health educational strategy.

We presented here an overview of the international innovation of public health and introduced our community-based educational practice of public health. We also reported it was effective for public health education to let students participate together with teachers in the cooperative movement developing healthy community and let them learn community dynamics, skills of participatory action research and the process of policy making. Today, the under-and post-graduate education of new public health will be effctively performed by participating in the practical healthy community project, which is performed cooperatively by communities, social resources and the university.

Tools to assess problem-solving skills are limited, and comprehensive evaluation is difficult. Concept mapping might be used to evaluate learners' organization of knowledge at various points during training. We used concept mapping to evaluate postgraduate training at the Department of Education Training Technology and Development, National Institute of Public Health. Thirty-five healthcare workers, including physicians, and public health nurses, underwent concept mapping training, drew preinstruction concept maps about public health or community organization, completed an educational course, and then drew postinstruction concept maps. Maps were assessed independently through qualitative comparison of concepts, conceptual links, hierarchy, knowledge domains, cross-links, and examples of preinstruction and postinstitution maps. This study provides preliminary evidence that concept mapping reflects changes and differences in the conceptual framework of individuals and of members of different healthcare specialties. Concept mapping can be used to clarify conceptual frameworks and to develop problem-solving skills. Moreover, concept mapping might be used to evaluate problem-solving skills.

Although great changes have already been made to medical education in Japan, the public health system urgently requires a paradigm change in the educational model. Recently, changes in the concept of public health have been proposed as “New Public Health” based on the World Health Organization's Health Promotion Movement in developed countries. We defined the core concepts and basic theories of New Public Health and have evaluated the validity to New Public Health of the community-based public health education model used since 1978 at Shimane Medical University. We have also established an educational environment that supports the development and dissemination of the model.

In the health and welfare policy of the 21st century, the building of healthy communities in rural areas has become an urgent task. The working out of an effective strategy and supportive activities by the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine have become important. We analyzed the situation, outcome, and problems of the health projects which have been continued for the past 40-50 years in Takasu?cho in Hokkaido, Masuda-cho in Akita, Matsumoto City in Nagano and Izumo City in Shimane Prefectures. The supportive actions by hospitals and universities were assessed as a model of community-academia collaboration.

Amid the swell of the tide of globarization and decentralization, the building of healthy cities and communities has become an increasingly important task of Japan’s health and welfare policy makers. In this article the international trends, results and problems of the healthy cities projects were reviewed with attention focused on the 3rd period (1998-2002) of the WHO healthy cities programs. The strategy and methodology, and the theory and practice of the development of healthy cities and communities were also proposed with stress placed on the need of the symbiotic collaboration between rural communities and urban communities from the viewpoint of policy science.
seconds ; Policy ; Science ; Methodology ; Community