The use of illicit drugs among young people is a growing social problem in Japan. All healthcare professionals are expected to play a role in preventing drug abuse; thus, it is important to give lectures to paramedical students not only to acquire accurate knowledge about illicit drugs but also to promote their self-awareness as future health care workers. To evaluate effective education for drug abuse prevention, we conducted an awareness survey of students in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University and the College of Healthcare Management, Fukuoka. Over 90% of students were affected by drug abuse resistance education in elementary, junior high, and high schools. According to this, most of the students tended to have an understanding of health hazards such as central nervous system toxicity. A normative consciousness of avoiding drug usage was high but in response to dealing with friends involved in drug abuse, 14.5% of students answered “it depends on their decision” and 9.1% answered “no idea.” The reasons for drug abuse given included easy availability (63.6%), fear of exclusion from the group (60.0%), and escaping distress (41.8%). The nature of this problem in young people might be attributed to their relationship with family or friends. In this survey, we obtained information regarding knowledge and awareness of drug abuse among paramedical students. We think that it is necessary to focus the education on understanding of factors leading to the use of illicit drugs, such as psychological problems, rather than their harmful effects on health.

Objective: When responding to questions regarding drug-drug interaction by the medical staff of our hospital, pharmacists previously collected information using some drug databases from Japan and the United States.  The aim of this study was to construct a search system for interaction information using drug databases from both Japan and the United States for streamlining questions and answers regarding drug-drug interaction.
Methods: Using the drug databases from Japan and the United States, we collected information on the interaction pertaining to drugs prescribed at Kobe University Hospital.  This information was further assessed for consistency.  Furthermore, we constructed an original search system for interaction information for streamlining questions and answers regarding drug-drug interaction.
Results: The difference between information obtained from the databases from Japan and the United States was apparent.  Thus, we concluded that it was necessary to obtain interaction information via a database search that included information from both the countries.  Therefore, our original interaction search system was reconstructed with interaction information collected using databases from both the countries.  We compared the response to questions regarding the previous and present methods using our original search system for interaction information; the time required to obtain the responses was 5.89 and 3.09 min, respectively, and it took lesser time for providing responses than the previous method.
Conclusion: We evaluated the usefulness of the original search system for interaction information.  We found that the original system provides a more rapid response to questions compared with the previous method.  We are considering a further upgrade and update for the original system by adding information on drugs not prescribed by our hospital.

Objective: In this study, we evaluated distinctive types of physical predisposition in patients with common side effects.
Method: We selected 500 and 1,200 individuals with and without a previous diagnosis of side effects, respectively, through web-based research.  Then, we conducted a decision tree analysis for investigating the status of 100 types of physical predisposition in these individuals.
Results and Conclusion: The individuals who had suffered from hepatic disorder and answered “relevant” for “predisposition to swelling” (likelihood ratio of a positive result [LR+] 2.17; p=0.004) and “very relevant” for “predisposition to skin dryness” (LR+ 3.52; p<0.001) enhanced the probability of extracting individuals who developed side effects.  The individuals who had suffered from skin disorder and answered “relevant” for “predisposition to eczema and inflammation” and “not relevant” for “predisposition to higher temperature” had an LR+ of 2.22 (p<0.001).  The individuals with “predisposition to worsening of physical condition on a rainy or high-humidity day” are more likely to develop side effects with the use of antibiotics and NSAIDs, compared to those without this predisposition (antibiotics: LR+ 2.33; NSAIDs: LR+ 2.51).  The results of this study indicate that we can identify patients with a high risk of side effects through an interview on predisposition.

Objectives: Elucidate recognition of end-of-life care by nursing care staff in elderly care facilities, and factors influencing such recognition. Methods: We conducted an internet questionnaire with 500 nursing care staff working at elderly care facilities across Japan, and an interview with 10 nursing care staff out of 500. Results: In the questionnaire, facility policies (41%) and cooperation with medical staff (38%) were selected as facilities and systems that are important for end-of-life care, and as a concern, sudden change in the condition of the patient, leading to death (53%) was selected. The interview showed that nursing care staff had a certain level of anxiety regardless of their experience with end-of-life care, with participants discussing their thoughts on how systematic learning of, and actual experience in, end-of-life care changed end-of-life care. Conclusion: Our study showed that systematic learning and experience of end-of-life care were important factors in recognition of end-of-life care by nursing care staff when providing such care in elderly care facilities.