Medical Education  2010;41(1):23-28

Experiential practice in assistance during an overnight tour for patients with Parkinson's disease

Tomoya TSUCHIHASHI ; Yuya OKAZAKI ; Takuzo HANO ; Toshiyuki KURIYAMA ; Tetsuya KAWABE ; Tatsuya TAKESHITA

Keywords

health tourism; assistance for patients; compassionate care; tourism medicine; Parkinson's disease

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese

Abstract

1) The Department of Tourism Medicine was established at Wakayama Medical University in 2006. "Health tourism," a project of the department combining sightseeing with health care, has involved patients with a variety of diseases.
2) As a part of training to promote the compassionate care of patients, students participated in an overnight tour for patients with Parkinson's disease and kept the patients company all the time with various types of assistance.
3) The students could understand the daily condition of patients with Parkinson's disease, which they could not do in the hospital, and had favorable relations with the patients' families. This experiential practice was an effective means for promoting the compassionate care of patients.