Education regarding menstruation is provided in elementary and junior high schools under the curriculum guidelines established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. However, in recent years, young people who have become increasingly dependent on internet searches have become prone to making simplistic self-judgments based on the incorrect information they find, including information regarding how one should address menstruation symptoms. Therefore, the present study conducted a questionnaire survey of young women to evaluate how consumers learned about appropriate self-care practices during menstruation. Three-quarters of the respondents mentioned that they first learned about menstruation during elementary school, which is the most predominant content that respondents had learned, including the mechanisms of menstruation. The number of women who had learned about the use of menstrual pain relief drugs was greater among younger generations, accounting for only 16.8% of the study population. More than half of the young women purchased over-the-counter menstrual pain relief drugs, but only 10.3% consulted with pharmacists at pharmacies before purchase. This survey revealed that approximately 30% of the women were not satisfied with the way they dealt with menstrual pain. Pharmacists, with knowledge of diseases and physiology, are expected to raise awareness of their role as accessible advisors who support self-medication and recommend medical consultation when necessary, with their expertise to help consumers practice appropriate self-care.

We have been holding “health fairs” at pharmacies with the aim of improving lifestyle habits. It is difficult for participants to improve these habits, and support from pharmacies is required. One possible reason for this is a lack of evidence to persuade participants to improve their lifestyle habits. However, in recent years, medical big data has been developed and accumulated. The National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan (NDB) collects data on insurance medical receipts (diseases) and specific health checkups (lifestyle habits and other information for approximately 30 million people). In this study, we aimed to clarify the correlation among “lifestyle habits” (including motivation to improve) using NDB Open Data Japan. Our results suggest that people do not exercise because they have good lifestyle habits; people who have problems with their eating habits or body mass index (BMI) are more motivated to exercise, although there are differences between men and women. We also found that “being able to eat just about anything” or “eating slowly” correlated to a decrease in BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and an increase in BMI 18.5 to <25 kg/m2. This suggests the importance of the dental area of mastication in BMI changes. In the future, we plan to provide health support in collaboration with the dental field. Correlation and causation are different, so further study is needed, but this study shows that the NDB can be useful in health support for individuals and society.

Purpose: To visually impress upon school students that medicine should be taken with a full glass of cool or lukewarm water as part of medical education on pharmaceuticals, we conducted an experiment in which pharmaceutical drugs were added to juice and the foaming behavior was observed.　However, the degree of foaming differed depending on the type of juice and medicine, and consistent experimental results could not be obtained. Therefore, a basic study was conducted to elucidate the selection criteria for juices and medicines suitable for this experiment. Method: 3.0 grams of reagent-grade sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) was added to about 100 mL of various types of juice, and the height of the foam was measured promptly with a ruler for comparison. In addition, we added one packet of different medicines containing NaHCO3 to grapefruit juice (GFJ), and measured the foam height for comparison. Furthermore, we conducted experiments to test 3.0-5.0 grams of food-grade NaHCO3. We also examined their convenience, cost, and portability. Results and Discussion: The study suggested that 100% GFJ may lead to significant foaming, and this foaming volume seems to be influenced by the number of moles of acidic groups in the juice neutralized by NaOH. Higher NaHCO3 in one packet content produced a greater amount of foam. A large amount of food-grade NaHCO3 also increased the amount of foaming. These results led to the creation of our experiment protocol. We believe that it is possible to implement effective medical education utilizing this protocol.

Saiseikai Yokohama-shi Nanbu Hospital has been charging an additional fee for enhanced collaboration for surgical patients concerning outpatient cancer drug chemotherapy since March 2022. In this survey, we compared the number of consultations and pharmacological interventions performed by pharmacists for target and non-target departments from September 2021 to February 2022 before the calculation began, and from March to August 2022 after the calculation started. In the target department, the number of consultations was 1.5±1.3 and 8.1±4.8 per day for before and after the calculation began, respectively, showing a significant increase (P<0.001). The number of pharmacological interventions increased from 35 preoperatively to 66 postoperatively. However, in the non-target departments, there was no change in the number of consultations and pharmacological interventions between before and after the calculation started. The results suggest that the additional fee for enhanced collaboration effectively enables pharmacists to continuously intervene in pharmacological problems.

This study aimed to assess the current state of knowledge regarding radiation and evaluate the effectiveness of a test-linked illustrated video lecture designed to enhance understanding. Radiation is used in various fields, including medicine, industry, and power generation; however, it poses potential health risks and accident hazards. Consequently, the dissemination and acquisition of accurate knowledge is socially significant. However, in Japan, opportunities to acquire foundational knowledge are limited and systematic education is not prevalent. To supplement this educational shortage, it is necessary to develop teaching materials that are easy for learners to understand and that promote understanding efficiently in a short time.　This study involved 94 first-year students from the Faculty of Pharmacy who viewed a 10 minute video on the basic properties of radiation, its effects on the human body, and its medical applications. Changes in knowledge were quantitatively assessed by comparing the comprehension test scores before and after viewing the video. The initial comprehension test scores (10 questions, each worth 10 points) averaged 42.6±15.4 and 39.3±17.9 points for male and female students, respectively, indicating a low level of comprehension with no significant gender differences. Conversely, in the retest following the video, both male and female students scored 85.6±13.7 and 85.2±18.6 points, respectively, demonstrating a high level of comprehension and a significant increase compared with the initial test (male: P<0.001, female: P<0.001）. These findings suggest that illustrated lectures can serve as an effective tool for enhancing comprehension irrespective of gender.

The Japan Anti-Doping Agency aims to eliminate doping to protect athletes’ health. However, unintentional doping violations can occur when athletes unknowingly consume prohibited substances. As future professionals, student pharmacists are expected to learn about anti-doping measures, while sports science students must learn how to comply with regulations. However, comparative studies on anti-doping awareness among students from different faculties remain limited in Japan. In this study we surveyed students from Nihon University who took Introduction to Anti-doping in the College of Sports Sciences, 2023, and student pharmacists who took the Science of Health and Physical Fitness II course in the School of Pharmacy, 2024. A comparison of the responses for each question of the survey revealed a significant difference in knowledge content regarding medicines. However, there were no apparent differences between the two faculties of participants in terms of awareness of anti-doping measures. Next, using qualitative research by text mining, we also found differences in anti-doping awareness among students of each school. First, the student pharmacists responses consisted of comments like: “Supporting athletes as a pharmacist,” “An interest in becoming a sports pharmacist” and “Consideration for patients who are athletes.” On the other hand, the Sports Science students responses consisted of comments like “Necessary for coaching athletes,” “Attitude toward doping as an athlete” and “Acquisition of knowledge through lectures.” In this study, qualitative analysis using text mining revealed that both the sports science students and pharmacy students constructed faculty-dependent behavioral goals related to anti-doping, demonstrating the usefulness of these courses.

This retrospective study assessed the role of hospital pharmacists in the initiation of growth hormone (GH) therapy in an outpatient setting. The study included 28 pediatric patients (< 15 years old) who started GH therapy at our institution between January 2012 and December 2021. Following physician referrals, hospital pharmacists provided medication counseling to the patients and their families. Notably, 6 patients (20%) opted for a specific GH formulation after receiving detailed explanations from the pharmacists. The observed growth velocity (cm/year) and serum IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) SD scores were comparable to those reported in clinical trials for Norditropin®. Three patients (11%) opted to discontinue treatment. A survey among 5 pediatricians revealed a unanimous agreement that the involvement of hospital pharmacists in outpatient services alleviated their workload during the initiation of GH therapy. Thus, the task of providing medication counseling at the initiation of GH therapy in pediatric patients could potentially be shifted from physicians to pharmacists.