Japan Academy of Community Health Nursing (JACHN)
Established: October 15, 1997
JACHN Newsletter No.9

Greetings and Messages
Sachiyo Murashima
President of JACHNThe University of Tokyo

It is a great privilege for me to serve as President of the Japan Academy of Community Health Nursing (JACHN)
for the next 3 years from August 8, 2009.
JACHN was established on October 15, 1997. Our goals are to promote academic development and education ofcommunity health nursing and to contribute to people’s health and welfare. For leverage, we hold annual
conferences, publish semi-annual journals, and issue the JACHN Newsletter (in English).
We have set up committees to help us work toward our goals: the Editorial Board, the Committee for the
Promotion of Research Activities, the Publicity Committee, the Education Committee, the Committee for
Promoting International Exchange Activities, the Science Council of Japan and Other Related Committee, and the
Policy Proposing Committee for Social Insurance Union Society Related Nursing. The Selection Committee for
Outstanding Manuscript Awards was newly formed in 2008 to recognize activities in community health nursing bygiving awards for quality articles.
In 2007, the symposium “Innovation of Community Health Nursing - Future Role of JACHN” was held tocommemorate the 10th anniversary, and a section summarizing the activities and the history of the academy over
the ten years was created. We have embarked on the next decade. Our academy now has more than 1,200
members, and we welcome your advice to help us make further progress.
JACHN covers the areas of public health nursing (public health nursing for municipalities, occupational healthnursing, school health nursing) as well as home care nursing.
Regarding the circumstances surrounding JACHN, the Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses wasamended on July 9, 2009, extending the training period for licensed public health nurses (PHNs) from six months
to one year. In addition, a new path was created for the exclusive education of registered nurses during thefour-year curriculum of nursing colleges and universities. On the other hand, social issues such as widening
disparity, increase in the number of suicides, and work-related disease are worsening and thus more highly skilled
PHNs are required. The importance of industrial PHNs is also increasing. Meanwhile, home care nursing needs tobe urgently improved to raise the level of medical and health care service. Education on advanced practical skills,
including expanding the role of nurses, is essential.
JACHN will continue to make even greater contributions to modern society. We seek to make active proposals tosociety based on evidence from social action programs and research. We hope to discuss with our members how
we can better fulfill our responsibilities.
Your continued support and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

1

Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses Is Revised!
On July 9, 2009, “the Bill for the Partial Revision of the Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses andthe Act on Assurance of Work Forces of Nurses and Other Medical Experts” was passed at a plenary
session of the House of Representatives and became act. This act will take effect in April 2010. This revision
concerns the following three points.
(1) The period of education for public health nurses and midwives was increased from “six months or more” to“one year or more”;(2) “Graduates of ‘a university/college’” shall be the first category to be specified in the list of persons possessing
qualifications to take the national board examination for nurses;(3) Post-graduate clinical training was made a “mandatory effort.”
Behind this revision is the increased diversification and sophistication of the abilities demanded of public healthnurses, midwives and nurses, respectively. This is the result of the expansion and diversification of the demands
for medical treatment, public health and public welfare that accompany the increased sophistication of medical
treatment, the declining birth rate and the aging of society in Japan, as well as factors such as the increased
complexity of the structure of diseases resulting from the diversification people’s lifestyles.
1. Improving the Quality of Public Health Nurses and Midwives
The period of education required to be qualified to take the national board examinations to become public healthnurses and midwives used to be “six months or more.” However, under the revision concerned, this period has
been extended to “one year or more.” Therefore, curriculum enrichment based on this change will be encouraged,
thereby improving the quality and abilities of public health nurses and midwives (Act on Public Health Nurses,
Midwives and Nurses, Article 19, Article 20).
In the case of public health nurses, the extension of the education period was essential when considered based on
the expansion of their role demanded by duties such as abuse prevention, health crisis management and theprevention of lifestyle-related diseases. As a result of the concerned revision, many universities are reviewing
their heretofore integrated curriculum for public health nurses and registered nurses. Conventional universities fornursing studies used to have all students acquire two types of licenses in four years. However, hereafter the courseof study for registered nurses will be separate from the course of study for public health nurses; thereby making it
possible for universities to have diverse options, such as offering a system that will have students select a course
or offering these as postgraduate courses or as graduate school master’s degree courses.
2. Toward Nursing Education Centering on University Education
In the concerned revision of the act, “graduates who have taken the course of study required for nurses at afour-year university’” shall be the first category to be specified in the list of persons possessing qualifications totake the national board examination for registered nurses. Until now, listed first under the national board
examination qualifications for registered nurses were the graduates of “universities, junior colleges and highschools and the postgraduate courses of applicable high schools (five-year comprehensive courses) designated by
the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.” Listed second were graduates of “nursing
schools designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.” (Items listed third and fourth have been
omitted.) The concerned revision does not change the existing qualifications to take the national board
examinations. However, especially by specifying four-year universities in Item 1, it can be said that the revision
clearly presents the direction hereafter of shifting the core of nursing education to universities. This will contributetoward further improving the quality and abilities of nurses and securing human resources, which are the goals inview of the rapid increase in nursing studies universities and a society that is increasingly higher education
oriented, whose birth rate is declining and whose population is aging. (Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives
and Nurses, Article 21).

2

3. Post-graduate Clinical and Training Made a “Mandatory Effort”
Furthermore, the revision makes it’s a “mandatory effort” for both the nursing professional and employer toendeavor to undertake clinical study and training after acquiring a license to be a public health nurse, midwife orregistered nurse. In other words, the act specifies that even after graduation individuals must endeavor to receive
study and training and improve their abilities in order to work as a nursing professional. It is anticipated that byimplementing these clinical study and training programs, the practical abilities of nursing professionals will
improve and early resignations will be reduced (Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives and Nurses, Article 28)(Act on Assurance of Work Forces of Nurses and Other Medical Experts, Article 3, Article 4, Article 5,
Article 6).
It is hoped that as a result of these revisions of the concerned acts, education and study will be linked and of highquality from the basic education level to the present, and that this will foster public health nurses, midwives andregistered nurses who protect the life and health of people.

Nursing Education System in Japan (Diagram)
The nursing profession in Japan, which requires that professionals pass the relevant national board examination, is
composed of three categories, public health nurses, midwives and registered nurses. As the diagram below
illustrates, there are various courses to the acquisition of the respective licenses.

3

The 4th ICCHNR Conference“Health in transition: Researching for the
Future” was held in Adelaide,
South Australia on 16th-19th, August, 2009
Setsu Shimanouchi，International University of Health and Welfare
Sally Kendoll，University of Hertfordshire

1. The conference was held at Adelaide Convention Center in Australia. It was hosted by the RoyalDistrict Nursing Service (RDNS) of South Australia. The chairperson was David Meldrum: Director,
and Meldrum Consulting. Dr Debbie Kralik of RDNS was the Chair of the organizing committee andProfessor Rosamund Bryar and Professor Sally Kendall have played important roles as Conveners of
ICCHNR from UK. The conference was four years after the 3rd ICCHNR in Tokyo.
A total of 367 people from 26 countries registered and attended the conference. Among them 150
participants were from Australia, 94 from Japan, 36 from United Kingdom, 21 from Korea, 10 from
USA, 8 from Thailand, 7 from New Zealand, 5 from Canada and 4 from Hong Kong.
2. The theme of the program was health in transition. . A number of keynote speakers were invited topresent aspects of their research that represented different perspectives on transition. Participants
were invited to attend breakfast and dinner sessions on 17-19th where they could speak and discuss
issues with the keynote speakers.
There were 176 general oral research presentations and 157 poster

presentations. Among them,18 oral presentations and 92 posters were by Japanese nurses. The Lisbeth Hockey prizes awarded
for the best oral presentation and the best poster were both awarded to Japanese participants.
Finally, we held a symposium themed “Disaster-Now What.” That addressed many aspects of healthcare and transitions associated with natural and man-made disasters.
3.

We had an impressive time and enjoyed the activities within the conference program provided by theparticipants. We also had a good time in Adelaide. It is a very beautiful city within a green park.

4.

Although the 5th ICCHNR has not yet been announced, a n International Symposium will be held by
University of Alberta in Edmonton City, Canada in 2011. Full details will be on the ICCHNR
website, www.icchnr.org.ukT

I look forward to meeting you all there.

4

Impressions from Young Researchers
Participation in ICCHNR
Sayaka Kotera, Okayama University
Saori Iwamoto, Kobe City College of Nursing

Participation in the 4th International
Conference on Community Health Nursing
Research
Emiko Kusano, Senri Kinran University

The 4th International Conference on Community
Health Nursing Research was held from the 16th to the20th August, 2009 in Adelaide, which is the capital city ofSouth Australian State.
We saw that downtown Adelaide had been rezoned
effectively. It was full of lush, green trees and grass.
Public transportation facilities were developed and there
are a lot of cultural facilities such as museums and art
museums in Adelaide. It was a nice town.
There were many participants in this conference, comingfrom all parts of the world. Countries such as Australia,
the host country of this conference, and Japan, United
Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, South Korea, to name a few.
We saw many Japanese participants at the conference, andwe talked with each other in Japanese. Many Japaneseparticipants made oral and poster presentations. Abroad
we felt close to the same Japanese participants that wewould have been acquainted with during similar academic
conferences in Japan. Of course we had a good time withthe overseas participants. It was a great opportunity to
exchange information and learn the current community
nursing situations in other countries.
During the opening ceremony, Aborigine's traditional
dance and music were performed. Especially, a peculiar
style of the native musical instrument named Didgeridoo[dei;juridou;] was impressive. A lecture concerning
Aboriginal healthcare was provided. It reported that many
Aborigines were still experiencing racial discrimination,and this situation made their mental health worsen. We
were able to study a health related problem within adifferent culture and custom in countries and current
states of the activity at the conference in spite of ourliguistic handicaps . We would like the chance to learn
about more cultural contexts and a health related
problems in various countries by participating in the next
ICCHNR conference.
At the end of this conference, we visited Kangaroo Islandand saw a wild kangaroo, the koala, and the sea dog.
Those experiences excited us greatly. We were inpressedby wonderful nature in Australia. We have strong feelings
that we would like to visit this great country again.

During the midst of intense heat in Japan, I visited
Adelaide, Australia for the first time, where even in winter,the climate was mild and not too cold. Participating in the
4th International Conference on Community HealthNursing Research stimulated me.
When I visited the international conference held at
Adelaide Convention Center, I felt nervous for a moment
as a young researcher. Though I could not make myself
understood in English, I felt the enthusiasm for researchfrom the overseas participants during the discussions
within the poster hall and oral presentations. Youngresearchers especially impressed me, and motivated myown research.
Moreover, it was possible to become acquainted withJapanese researchers doing research related to my topic at
this conference. I was surprised that one of them, my age
made an oral presentation. It is thought that opinions canbe exchanged even in Japan from now on.
Through participation in this conference, I am remindedof my poor English abilities all over again. (I always think
the same thing whenever I go to other countries…) If it
were in Japanese, I could have discussed more andbecome involved more. I would like to challenge myself
to give an oral presentation some time in the future.
When reflecting on my work, I am reminded every day,that my view tends to be narrower in Japan. Participationin this conference was a good opportunity to refresh
myself by touching the bountiful nature and different
cultures of Australia, to look my research conducted inJapan once again and to get motivated by researchers of
my own age.
People say it may be a grand dream, however, I wish I
could conduct research with researchers from various
countries in the future.

5

Purpose and Action of Committees for the Term of the 2009 to 2011 Fiscal Year
Publicity Committee

Editorial Board
Misako Miyazaki
Graduate School of Nursing, Chiba University

Toshiko Tada
The University of Tokushima

The Journal of Japan Academy of Community
Health Nursing is the official journal of Japan
Academy of Community Health Nursing (JACHN).
The journal is issued twice a year, which publishes
authoritative peer-reviewed articles. It provides
original article, review article, preliminary report,
community health nursing report, and informationand letter. It is an essential resource to improvepractice, education and research on community
health nursing.

We have three purpose, those are promotion of
publicity work, support of each committee action andsupport of academic meeting.
An action plan (the next 3 years) is as follows;
1. Update contents of our homepage and a new
informational publication: We have requests such as
modification and update, a new information
publication from the board of directors and eachcommittee.
2. Support of committee action: We inform an
academic meeting member of a report from eachcommittee.
3. Support of academic meeting: We provide
information about an academic meeting that is held
every year.

Editorial Board has 4 action plans as follows in
the next 3 years (2009-2011):
1. Ensuring the quality of referee reading by
establishing a clearer set of referee standards
2. Providing rapid and adequate peer-review byencouraging closer cooperation with the editorial
board members and the referees
3. Enriching the contents of articles of the journal
4. Considering the possibilities of introducing
electronic submission and acceptance system of
research papers

Because the Publicity Committee always wants toreceive information/opinion from members, pleasecontact us whenever you are necessary. We hope toincrease members of academic meeting.

Committee for the Promotion of Research
Activities
Kiyomi Asahara
St. Luke’s College of Nursing

Education Committee

The purpose of this committee is two-fold:promote research activities of the Japan Academy ofCommunity Health Nursing (JACHN) members andencourage collaboration between members andnurses who work in the community.
The activities for 2009-2011 fiscal years are as
follows:
1. Conducting the research seminar at the annual
meeting at JACHN or another more accessible
location place that enables members and nurses tocome together. Contents of the research seminars
are EBN/EBHC, action research, qualitative
research, social epidemiology, ethics for conducting
research, and useful knowledge and techniques for
publication such as a way of answering to review
comments and writing paper in English.
2. Promoting collaborative research among
members and nurses.

The purpose of the Education Committee of theJapanese Academy of Community Health Nursing(JACHN) is to promote academic development of
the community health nursing (public health nursing,occupational health nursing, home care nursing, andschool health nursing) through reexamination of thecommunity health nurse education system and its
curriculum after the revision of the Act on Public
Health Nurses, Midwives, and Nurses.

Miyoko Uza
University of the Ryukyus

Action Plans:
1. The committee will examine the community
health nurse curriculum and its education
contents within basic nursing education.
2. The committee will examine the role of JACHN
in improving public health nurse education.
3. Based on the above mentioned two action plans,
the committee will provide recommendations
regarding the revision of the community healthnurse education system and its curriculum
reflecting the revised Act of Public Health
Nurses, Midwives, and Nurses.

6Committee
for
PromotingExchange Activities

Science Council of Japan and Other Related
Committee

International

Reiko Okamoto
Graduate School of Health Sciences,
Okayama University

Michiko Konishi
Gifu College of Nursing

The purpose of this committee is to promote theinternational exchange activities for community
health nursing practice, research and education.

Action Plan and Activities
1. Activities as a member of the Japan Associationof Nursing Academies (JANA)
Attendance to the general annual meeting,gathering information and reporting it to the boardof directors and members.
Publication of newsletters, administration of thehomepage, organization of symposiums andcollaboration with the Science Council of Japan.
2. Science Council of Japan activities
One council member and 15 members from thenursing sciences field belong to human life
sciences fields on Science Council of Japan. The
human life sciences fields deal with nursing
problems, public health, elderly and life-style
related illnesses. We are exchange of necessary
information to work in cooperation with the
Science council of Japan and similarorganizations, such as The Alliance of Japan
Public Health Sciences. It greatly contributes tocommunity health nursing by rising discussion on
the position of public health nurses.

Action plans for 2009-2011 are as follows:
1.

2.

3.

4.

Issuing the JACHN newsletter in English once a
year to inform about JACHN activities and thelatest trend in community health nursing affairsof Japan.
Holding a Japan and Korea Joint Conference on
Community Health Nursing every four years.
The second conference will be held at Tokyo/
Japan in 2011.
Organizing an international seminar once during
this period. The committee intends to invite a
foreign researcher.
Promoting an international network-building incooperation with International Conferences on
Community
HealthNursing
Research(ICCHNR) and other associations.

Selection
Committee
Manuscript Awards

Policy Proposing Committee for Social
Insurance Union Society Related Nursingfor

Outstanding

Kumiko Ii
Japanese Nursing Association

Kayoko Hirano
Tohoku University School of Health Sciences

This committee was established for the purposeof developing policy proposals for social
insurance and the fee structure to cover
nursing care services to community residents
receiving home care based on the evidence.
The committee will be study policy proposals forrevision in 2012 of social insurance.
*Abolition of a frequency restriction of home care bynurse*A raise of fee for home care by nursing*Set a high valuation on arrangement of special
nurses
We will conduct a investigation to JACHN members
as occasion demand.

Activity Planning2009
The committee operates with the editing committee
to determine a selection methods (a sphere of entry
articles, criteria for selection, and a member of a
selection committee) and honorary members, and it
also award for the selected personnel.
・discussion and determination on an article selection
process
・discussion on a plan of certification
・discussion on honorary member selection criteria
and a honorary membership card
2010
・award ceremony of the selected articles
・selection of honorary members and presentation of
the honorary membership cards
2011
・determination on the selected articles
・selection of honorary members

7

The 13th Annual Research Conference of JACHN
We include the 13th annual conference of JACHN 2010. The main theme of theconference is “Propose the policy for reforming health disparity of society by the community
health nursing”. Speeches, symposiums, oral and poster presentation, round table session
and workshops will be planned to allow members to present their practical exercise as well
as results of educational and research activities, and to exchange opinions on them.
We look forward to the participation of our members and many other people to ensure a
successful conference and contribution to community health nursing.
Date: 10-11 July, 2010
Venue: Hokkaido Citizens Activities Promotion Center
Nishi 7-chome, Kita 2-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, 060-0002, Japan
http://www.kaderu27.or.jp/index.htm
Chairperson: Kazuko Saeki (Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hokkaido University)
ProgramFirst day, 10 July (Sat)
Chairperson’s speech: Kazuko Saeki“Evidence-based health program and policy
Symposium
Oral and poster presentation and work shops
BanquetSecond day, 11 July (Sun)
Educational Speech
Oral and poster presentation and work shops
Mini Symposium
Round table session
For further information:
Fax: +81-11-706-3695
E-mail: jachn13-gakkai@ec-pro.co.jp
http://www.ec-pro.co.jp/jachn13/

Secretariat of JACHN:
Department of Community Health Nursing,
Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan 113-0033
Fax: +81-3-5841-3648
E-mail: chikango-acd@umin.ac.jp

Publishers: Committee for the Promotion of Research Activities:
Reiko Okamoto, Kiyomi Asahara, Mikiko Ito, Saori Iwamoto,
Miho Ono, Yuko Tanaka, Sayaka Kotera
Graduate School of Health Sciences, Okayama University
2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, Japan 700-8558
Fax: +81-86-235-6865
E-mail: reiko@md.okayama-u.ac.jp8