Socioeconomic Background of Medical Students Who Intend to Work in Less-Populated Areas
10.11307/mededjapan.56.6_367
- VernacularTitle:人口少数地域での勤務を志向する医学生の社会経済的背景
- Author:
Yasuyuki SUZUKI
1
;
Osamu NOMURA
1
;
Koji TSUNEKAWA
2
;
Yuko TAKEDA
3
;
Takuya SAIKI
1
Author Information
1. Medical Education Development Center, Gifu University School of Medicine
2. Department of Medical Career and Professional Development, Nagoya City University School of Medical Sciences
3. Department of Medical Education, Juntendo University, Faculty of Medicine
- Keywords:
medical students;
future practice location;
less-populated area;
socioeconomic background
- From:Medical Education
2025;56(6):367-371
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To examine the socioeconomic backgrounds of medical students who intend to practice in less-populated areas.METHODS: A nationwide online questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,822 Japanese medical students (1,024 from public universities and 798 from private universities) across 40 medical schools.RESULTS: Regarding preferred future practice locations, 25.2% of students intended to work in areas with populations over 1,000,000; 36.8% in areas with 200,000-1,000,000; 17.2% in areas with 50,000-200,000; and 4.8% in areas with fewer than 50,000 residents. Students who intended to work in less-populated areas (population >200,000) were more likely to have grown up in such areas, come from families with lower annual incomes, have fewer physician parents, have graduated from public high schools, and be enrolled in regional quota programs. Logistic regression analysis identified having a family background in a less-populated area (OR 9.46) and enrollment in a regional quota program (OR 2.72) as significant predictors of the intention to work in less-populated areas.DISCUSSION: There is a correlation between medical students’ intentions to work in less-populated areas and their socioeconomic backgrounds, which are important factors to consider when addressing the uneven distribution of physicians in Japan.
