We report The "Sharing and Self-Caring" gym on Tarama Island, Okinawa. There are a large number of patients with metabolic syndrome on the island, which is a community health concern. To encourage people in the community to engage in physical exercise and prevent them from developing metabolic syndrome, we established a gym where they shared fitness equipment that they had bought but not used in a while. During the course of establishment, we employed a community-oriented primary care strategy.

Kampo medicines have been used for treatment by an increasing number of doctors in recent years, and are becoming more frequently prescribed in combination with Western drugs. In the present study, we conducted a questionnaire of outpatients at the Kampo Clinic of Keio University Hospital in order to determine their perceptions and compliance regarding Kampo medicines.Ninety eight percent of patients used Kampo medicines in granular form, and approximately 30% of these patients reported difficulty in taking medicine due to reasons such as “bad taste”. Sixty percent of patients used Kampo medicines three times daily. Patients most often forgot to take afternoon doses, and so desired doses once daily. Furthermore, the same number of patients preferred Kampo medicines in tablet form as those who preferred Kampo medicines in granular form.The present findings clarified patients' perceptions toward Kampo medicines. Doctors and pharmacists must provide suitable treatment for patients by recognizing their perceptions of Kampo medicines.
Medicine, Kampo ; Clinic ; Use of ; percent ; therapeutic aspects