Collaborating Centres
ANNUAL REPORT
Folder eCC_00024558 is in stage Annual_Report_Review
Name of the University, Hospital, Research Institute, Academy or MinistryGunma University
Name of the Division, Department, Unit, Section or Area
Centre for Research and Training on Interprofessional Education
Reference Number

JPN-89City

Maebashi-City

Title

WHO Collaborating Centre for research and training on Interprofessional Education

Report Year

07-2022 to 07-2023

1. Annual report on the agreed workplan
Describe progress made on the agreed workplan. For each activity, detail (1) the actions taken, (2) theoutputs delivered, as well as (3) any difficulties that may have been encountered. Three responses areexpected. [maximum 200 words per activity]. Indicate, if an activity has been completed previously,
has not yet started or has been placed on hold.
Activity 1
Title: Under WHO’s leadership, support WHO in the translation and dissemination of WHO tools and materials
on IPE.
Description: The proposed plan for the new designation period continues the strong support to WHO priorities
around supporting countries in building a fit-for-purpose health workforce as set out in the GPW13 output
1.1.5 (Countries enabled to strengthen their health workforce), in this case by translating and disseminating
agreed WHO publications into other languages.
Increased access to WHO publications will help disseminate good practice and drive innovation in patient
safety, gender equity and digital education, supporting WHO’s ambition to improve the quality and quantity ofhealth workforce in the region.
Increased access to WHO publications will help disseminate good practice and drive innovation in patient
safety, gender equity and digital education, supporting WHO’s ambition to improve the quality and quantity ofhealth workforce in the region.
Status: ongoing(1) Actions taken,
In order to increase access to WHO publications, the Centre translated the following publication about therecommendation of digital education. The translated booklet was broadly distributed to policy makers,
including the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, stakeholders, health workers and educators.
1) Digital education for building health workforce capacity(2) Outputs delivered
1) Japanese Version of “Digital education for building health workforce capacity” in electronic and paperformats.
(3) Difficulties
NoneActivity 2

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Collaborating Centres
ANNUAL REPORT
Title: Under WHO’s leadership, support WHO in collecting evidence for the effect of IPE on attitudes oflearners toward IPE and Collaborative Practice.
Description: The proposed plan for the new designation period continues the strong support to WHO priorities
around supporting countries in building a fit-for-purpose health workforce as set out in the GPW13 output
1.1.5 (Countries enabled to strengthen their health workforce ). The WHO is asking the CC to continue toproduce research and evidence of IPE on health worker training and development to increase the awarenessand uptake of IPE methodologies across the region, in order to strengthen health professional education,
which ensures not just the quality of the health workers, but also the quality of the services they provide.
Professionals’ Education and Training: World Health Organization Guidelines 2013, clearly listed
interprofessional education (IPE) as one of the eleven recommendations.
However, insufficient evidence for the effects of IPE on health issues was also pointed out. To disseminate
IPE under the WHO HRH Policy to scale up and transform health profession education, evidence for concrete
effects of IPE programs on learners’ attitudes toward the needs of the people and eventually higher quality ofthe stakeholders must be acquired. To improve the health system attributes of quality and efficiency, for UHC,
stated in Universal Health Coverage: Moving Towards Better Health, WHO/WPRO 2015, careful scientificresearch needs to be promoted.

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Collaborating Centres
ANNUAL REPORT
Status: ongoing(1) Actions taken,
1. The Centre encouraged JIPWEN universities to research the effect of their unique IPE programs andevaluate the impact of interprofessional education and collaborative practice. JIPWEN universities publishedthe following 13 English scientific papers.
(2) Outputs delivered
1. Kawamura H et al. Implementation of a rapid response system at an isolated radiotherapy facility throughsimulation training. BMJ Open Quality. 2022;11: e001578.
2. Komatsu H et al. The Role of Nurse on the Treatment Decision Support for Older People with Cancer: A
Systematic Review. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11(4):546.
3. Shikino K, et al. Effective situation-based delirium simulation training using flipped classroom approach toimprove interprofessional collaborative practice competency: a mixed-methods study. BMC Med Educ. 2022;
22(1):408.
4. Nagai S et al. A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of Personal and Professional Resources on Nurses' WorkEngagement: A Comparison of Early-Career and Mid-Later-Career Nurses. Healthcare (Basel). 2022; (1):76.
5. Wakabayashi T, et al. Self-assessment scale for the community-based and emergency practice. BMC Med
Educ. 2022;22(1):799.
6. Masumoto S et al. Association between experience of interprofessional care and self-medication amongfamily caregivers: A cross-sectional study. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2023;19(5):773-777.
7. Yamamoto Y et al. What kinds of work do Japanese primary care physicians who derive greater positive
meaning from work engage in? A cross-sectional study. J Gen Fam Med. 2022 Nov 21;24(2):94-101.
8. Goto R et al. Current status of interprofessional competency among healthcare professions in Japan: Across-sectional web-based survey. J Gen Fam Med. 2022;24(2):119-125.
9. Nakayama G et al. Family caregivers' experience with healthcare and social care professionals and theirparticipation in health checkups: A cross sectional study in Japan. J Gen Fam Med. 2022;24(2):110-118.
10. Haruta J et al. How do medical students learn in an online community diagnostics program? BMC MedEduc. 2023; 23(1):15.
11. Haruta J et al. Analyzing annual changes in network structures of a social media application-based
information-sharing system in a Japanese community. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22(1):1107.
12. Haruta J et al. Factors associated with interprofessional competencies among healthcare professionals inJapan. J Interprof Care. 2023 May-Jun;37(3):473-479.
13. Ozone S et al. Three-year evaluation of a program teaching social determinants of health in communitybased medical education: a general inductive approach for qualitative data analysis. BMC Med Educ.
2023;23(1):332.
(3) Difficulties
NoneActivity 3

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Collaborating Centres
ANNUAL REPORT
Title: Under WHO’s leadership, support WHO in building capacity on IPE through conducting trainingworkshops.
Description: The proposed plan for the new designation period continues the strong support to WHO priorities
around supporting countries in building a fit-for-purpose health workforce as set out in the GPW13 output1.1.5 (Countries enabled to strengthen their health workforce). The WHO is asking the CC to create anddeliver training in IPE to increase the capacity and capability of training providers to utlise IPE methodologies
across the region, in order to strengthen health professional education, which ensures not just the quality of
the health workers, but also the quality of the services they provide.
Status: ongoing(1) Actions taken,
The Centre offered the 9th IPE Training Course online via zoom, 22-26 August 2023, to support thedevelopment of IPE that can be adapted to various educational and social environments. Participantsconsisted of six from the Philippines, four from Vietnam, one from South Korea, one from Mongolia, five fromIndonesia, one from Thailand, one from Myanmar, and three from Turkey, respectively. Lectures andworkshops offered information on the IPE training program at Gunma University and the Toolkit, which theCentre for Research and Training on Interprofessional Education at Gunma University had developed for otherinstitutions to use as a checklist when they introduce/improve IPE programs in their institutions. Guest
speakers were invited from JIPWEN universities to provide participants with further hints for thedevelopment/improvement of IPE programs. In addition, a former participant in the 2016 program fromIndonesia was invited to share her experiences of initiating IPE programs. Aside from these guest lectures,
the Centre cohosted the 2nd ASEAN Interprofessional Education (IPE) Workshop with JICA Partnership
Project for Global Health and Universal Health Coverage Phase 2 on Day 4 and a special lecture on IPE in thecontext of UHC was organized. Participants discussed the development/improvement of their own IPEprograms.
(2) Outputs delivered
Participants expressed the willingness to initiate the development/improvement of their own IPE programs.
Participants were also highly willing to extend the networking and research collaboration after completing thecourse. Five additional institutions for which the course participants work were newly recognized as membersof the Asia-Pacific IPE research Alliance the Centre launched in April 2022 with 26 members.
(3) Difficulties
None
2. Annual report on other activities requested
Should WHO have requested activities in addition to the agreed workplan, please describe related
actions taken by your institution [maximum 200 words]. Please do not include in this report any
activity done by your institution thatwas not requested by and agreed with WHO.

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Collaborating Centres
ANNUAL REPORT
1. The Centre organized an online international symposium with the executive officer of WHO/WPRO on 3
September 2022. The presentation title was “Exit Strategy of COVID-19 and Existing Public Health Concern
after COVID-19”.
2. The Centre held a Patient Safety Conference in collaboration with the Gunma Medical Association, Gunma
Prefecture and Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, and the invited speaker from the Japanese Ministryof Health, Labour and Welfare on 17 September 2022. A presentation entitled the Trends in Medical Safety
Policies in Maebashi was given in commemoration of World Patient Safety Day that WHO has promoted.
3. The Center lit up three iconic monuments in Gunma Prefecture, Rinkokaku (Prefectural Guest House),
Byakue Dai-Kannon (White-Robed Goddess of Mercy Statue), and Yubatake of Kusatsu Onsen (Hot spring) inorange, which is the image color of World Patient Safety Day as part of the activities of World Patient Safety
Day 2022. The light-up continued for eight days.
4. Two faculty members of the Centre participated International Symposium on Interprofessional Education(The 20 Years of IPE in the World: Exploring the Past and Future Evolution of IPE) as invited speakers. The
activities were organized by Tokyo Metropolitan University on 22 January 2023.
5. A faculty member of the Centre attended the 1st Conference on Kangwon Health Care as an invitedspeaker. The conference was hosted by Kangwon National University, Republic of Korea on 1 February,2023.
6. A faculty member of the Centre participated in the 65th Annual Conference of Nursing Sciences of Schoolof Nursing, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (held online), as an invited speaker. The
program was hosted by Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences on 14 April 2023.
7. Two faculty members of the Centre attended the Member States Consultation on the Draft Framework toShape the Health Workforce of the Western Pacific Region for the Future (held online), on 24-25 April 2023.
8. A faculty member of the Centre participated in the 9th National Training and Seminar, Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia (held online) as an invited speaker. The program was hosted by the third national hospital on 4 May,2023.
9. Two faculty members of the Centre participated in IPE Seminar-Workship on Interprofessional Education asinvited speakers. The program was hosted by The De La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute,
Philippines on June 24, 2023.
3. Resources
Indicate staff time spent on the implementation of activities agreed with WHO (i.e. those mentioned inquestions no. 1 and no. 2 above). Do not include any data related to other activities done by yourinstitution without the agreement of WHO. Please indicate staff time using the number of “full-dayequivalents” – a day of work comprising 8 hours (e.g. 4 hours work per day for 7 days should berecorded as 3.5 full-day equivalents).
Number of staff involved (either partially or fully)
Senior staff

Mid-career staff

Junior staff, PhD students

9110

Number of full-day equivalents, total for all staff involved
Senior staff

Mid-career staff

Junior staff, PhD students

435

300

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Implementation of the agreed workplan activities (i.e. those mentioned in questions no. 1 and no. 2above) normally require resources beyond staff-time, such as the use of laboratory facilities,
purchasing of materials, travel, etc. Please estimate the costs of these other resources as apercentage of the total costs incurred (e.g. if you incurred costs of USD 100 and the value of your staff
time was USD 50 which makes the total of USD 150, please report 33.3% and 66.7%).
Percentage of costs
associated with staff time

Percentage of costs associated with Totalother resources

15.00

85.00

100.004. Networking
Describe any interactions or collaboration with other WHO Collaborating Centres in the context of theimplementation of the agreed activities If you are part of a network of WHO Collaborating Centres,
please also mention the name of the network and describe your involvement in that network[maximum 200 words].
The Centre attended the HRH-related WHOCC catch-up meeting online on 24 October 2022. Participants
updated the activities of WHOCC and shared future plans of WPRO. In the meeting, members of theAustralian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (WHOCC/AUS-137), the National Health Commission of thePeople’s Republic of China (WHOCC/CHN-81), the National Centre for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM)(WHOCC/JPN-45), and Seoul National University (WHOCC/KOR-102) participated.
The Centre participated in the 4th Regional Forum of the WHO Collaborating Centres in the Western Pacificon November 28 and 29, 2022. The Forum provided an opportunity for collective deliberation to achieve more
effective and accountable partnerships.

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