An international fieldwork program in Sub-Saharan Africa for Japanese nursing students to learn intercultural competence for healthcare support,
Authors: Muungo Lungwani 
Published: June 2020

The global population is growing continuously, particularly indeveloping countries without advanced social infrastructure.1) 4)Although the amount of service provided depends on the size ofthe aging population, industrialized countries with slowerpopulation growth offer citizens numerous opportunities toaccess various social services, including health care.4-6)Thisnon-uniform increase in the population causes global economicinequality, and the resulting medical needs in developingcountries, which are often considerable, may be ignored5) 7); insuch countries, personnel shortage attributed to healthworkermigrationis one of the main concerns.1) 4) Internationalcooperative support from non-governmental organizations,including academic institutions, is needed to solve theseproblems.The role of nurses, the largest workforce in the field of healthcare1) , has expanded from providing comfort care to postsurgicalpatients or those with incurable diseases, to participating inclinical research and advanced technology development.8)Nurses are expected to show leadership in overcoming healthcare challenges in developing economies3) and identify theirresponsibilities as global health diplomats.Thus, global nursingeducation must be promoted to give students more experienceof the health practices in developing countries.1) 3) 7)Japan, currently categorized as a developed country, mustlearn intercultural competence in nursing care. Japan’s NationalHealth Care Insurance provides all citizens with access toadvanced health care services. As a result, Japan’s lifeexpectancy at birth is one of the highest, and increasingly bettersocial services and more personnel are required to care for thegrowing population of elderly citizens.4) 6) The development of areliable home health care system and building more nursingschools are encouraged to meet the future demand, althoughthe nursing shortage must still be solved. Another way to bringin new personnel may be the recruitment of non-Japanesepeople from other countries; individuals would receive trainingunder the supervision of Japanese staff before beginning work.Good teamwork between professionals from various culturaland language backgrounds is essential to enhanced performancein care.9) 10) In multicultural societies such as the United Statesand Canada, intercultural competence training is recommendedfor the improvement of health professional skills.11) 12) Understandingdifferences in social values requires time; therefore,comprehensive education is necessary for global nursingpartnership. Although Japan is not considered a multiculturalcountry, a diverse range of cultures, values, and traditions stillexist in it, and the realization and acceptance of such values isrequired. Intercultural competence may be associated with goodhealth care support for Japanese seniors.13) In many Japanesenursing schools, global issues are gradually being incorporatedinto the curriculum14) ; acquiring skills for culturally competentnursing care may be important not only for global cooperationbut also to provide better healthcare for the aging population ofJapan.