[Survey on international health related education in preventive medicine curricula of medical school in Japan].

A nation-wide survey of the 150 active members of the Japan Association of the Directors of the Departments of Hygiene and Public Health at Medical Schools (80 medical schools) in Japan was conducted regarding international health related education for the 1990 academic year. The survey questionnaire used 6 basic questions, including some space for free answers. There were 105 effective responses (70.0%). Among them 61 answered that educational courses related to international health were provided in their curriculum; 16 out of 39 (41.0%) in the department of hygiene, 34 out of 48 (70.8%) in the department of public health, and 11 out of 18 (61.1%) in others. However, there were 24 that had the same title of "International Health". The most prevalent key-word was WHO (41), with international exchange and cooperation (15), JICA (14), PHC (12), ILO (12) following in that order. These results suggest a need for curriculum improvement in the near future for implementing international health education. Some strategies for developing international health related education in the broader context of the whole medical curriculum in collaboration with other departments are discussed.