TEL. 03-3353-8111
〒162-8666 8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
The Department of Hygiene and Public Health was founded in 1934 by Professor Hiroto Yoshioka, son of the founder of Tokyo Women's Medical University, Dr. Yayoi Yoshioka, and since then has been engaged in research and education on a wide range of health issues throughout society.
【Section of Public Health】
The term "public health" may be unfamiliar to many people, but
public health is the study of protecting the lives (ensuring and promoting
the health) of the public (all people). The important role of this field
is to prevent people from getting sick or injured in advance and to widely
disseminate the knowledge and techniques of basic and clinical medicine
to society, and that is why it is called social medicine. Article 25 of
the Constitution of Japan states that the national government shall strive
to improve public health, and Article 1 of the Medical Practitioners Law
states that physicians shall contribute to the improvement and promotion
of public health. The results of this academic research are put into practice
in community health, maternal and child health, mental health, and elderly
health at public health centers, as well as in school health, occupational
health, environmental health, international health, and other initiatives. In
public health, research on this wide range of areas is conducted mainly
using epidemiological (i.e., identifying the frequency, distribution and
the causes of various health-related events in a population) approaches.
Our division aims to educate medical professionals who can play an active
role in these broad areas, and is primarily responsible for education in
medical statistics, clinical epidemiology and EBM. We also conduct research
on women's health and working women, as well as research on improving the
working environment of medical institutions, in order to contribute to
"the empowerment of women," which was the purpose of the founding
of Tokyo Women's Medical University.
【Section of Global Health】
Our original Department of Parasitology, which had been led by Professor Tatsuo Shirasaka, was reorganized into the Department of International Environmental and Tropical Medicine in 1993 (Heisei 5) when Professor Takatoshi Kobayakawa was appointed to address not only parasites but also global health issues, and in 2009 (2009), Professor Hiroyoshi Endo and in 2016 (2016) Professor Tomohiko Sugishita took over the position, by harmonizing the two approaches, field and bench, like two wheels of a car. Today, it has evolved from genome analysis to interdisciplinary field research, and even to empirical and policy research in global health and its application to social design, with the aim of fostering leadership among female physicians and social change.
【Section of Environmental and Occupational Medicine】
The Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine carries out educational, research and social activities in the fields of environmental and occupational medicine, as well as healthcare and hospital administration.
■Environmental and Occupational Medicine
Various physical and chemical factors in the environment affect our health. In recent years, alongside global environmental issues such as global warming and ozone depletion, the health effects of chemicals to which we may be exposed in daily life have become a concern. These include toxic metals, dioxins, persistent organic pollutants, volatile organic compounds and fine particulate matter. In industrial settings, concern is also growing about the health effects of operations and working environments involving the handling of hazardous chemicals such as metals and organic solvents. The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health conducts educational, research and social activities in the fields of environmental and occupational health. The aim is to prevent diseases and disorders caused by harmful environmental and occupational factors, maintain and promote good health, and improve quality of life. Our basic research focuses on elucidating the effects of environmental stresses, such as toxic metals, on living organisms at cellular and molecular levels, as well as in model animals, with a particular focus on signal transduction systems.
■Healthcare and Hospital Administration
From the perspective of ' healthcare', the current situation in Japan is not optimistic. The increasing cost of healthcare is putting pressure on national finances. Nevertheless, we must work together to develop an effective healthcare delivery system that protects people's health, even in these challenging circumstances. Our educational and research activities cover practical issues facing medical institutions, such as patient safety, management and the working environment of healthcare professionals, as well as policy issues relating to community healthcare, continuity of care, the social insurance system and national finance.
【Section of Public Health】
In pre-graduate education, we conduct lectures and exercises on biostatistics, epidemiology, and EBM in "AI, Data Science and Medicine," a longitudinal course from the first to the fourth year of the School of Medicine. In addition, we conduct lectures and practical training in hygiene and public health in line with the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education, including the core subjects "Environment and Health, Disease, and Disability" and "Social Systems and Health, Medicine, and Welfare" in the fourth year (segment 8) of the School of Medicine.
In "AI, Data Science and Medicine," students will learn the actual collection, organization, integration, analysis, selection, retrieval, dissemination, and presentation of information, focusing on the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) to effectively utilize various types of information related to medicine. First, students will learn the fundamentals of statistics, with the goal of acquiring the knowledge necessary to be able to process statistical data appropriately and to accurately interpret the results obtained. After that, the goal is to understand the concepts and methods of epidemiology and to acquire the basic skills to apply them to populations. Furthermore, students will develop practical skills in EBM in clinical practice.
In "Social Systems and Health, Medical Care, and Welfare," students are requested to recognize the concept of individual and group health, learn about individual and social organizational efforts necessary to maintain and promote health, as well as laws and regulations, statistical information, administrative organizations and systems, and economics related to health care, and aim to be able to examine problems and measures for medical care in society.
We are also involved in "Tutorial," "Practical Studies of Sincerity and Love," "Research Projects," "Independent Elective Practice," and "Basic Clinical Practice".
In the School of Nursing, we conduct lectures in Public Health (3rd grade), Health Science (2nd grade) and Epidemiology (4th grade).
【Section of Global Health】
Lecture
| Segment/Block | Grade | Lecture contents |
|---|---|---|
| S2 | 1 | Living organisms and microorganisms (general introduction to parasites, international health and infectious diseases) |
| S4 | 2 | Respiratory system II (Respiratory parasites) |
| S7 | 4 | Infectious diseases (parasitic diseases) |
| S8 | 4 | Social Systems and Health, Medical Care, and Welfare |
| Elective Lecture | 1-4 | Medical Policy |
| S10 | 6 | Society and Health Care (International Health and Infectious Diseases) |
Practical Training
| Segment | Grade | Contents of Practice |
|---|---|---|
| S7 | 4 | Parasitology practice |
| S8 | 4 | Social Medicine Practicum |
| S9 | 5 | Elective Practicum (Clerkship) |
【Section of Environmental and Occupational Medicine】
In pre-degree education, lectures on hygiene and public health are given in accordance with the Model Core Curriculum for Medical Education. These focus on the core subject of 'The Origin of the Human Body' in the first year of medical school (segment 1), and on the core subjects of 'Environment and Health, Disease and Disorders' and 'Social Systems, Health, Medical Care and Welfare' in the fourth year (segment 7). The course focuses on 'Environment, Health, Disease and Disorders' and 'Social Systems, Health, Medical Care and Welfare'.
In 'The Origin of the Human Body', students learn about the internal structure of the human body and its relationship to the outside world from various perspectives, introducing first-year students to the study of medicine.
The goal of “Environment and Health, Disease and Disorders” is for students to learn how to prevent diseases and disorders caused by various harmful factors in their living and working environments, and to maintain and promote health and improve quality of life as future doctors.
The department has also taught “Occupational, Environmental and Food Health”/“Social Security System and Health Economics” (segment 10, area 12), “Tutorial”, “Research Project”, “Elective Clinical Practice”, “Law for medical professionals” (elective) and “Practical Study of 'Sincerity and Love'”.
At the School of Nursing, our department staff has taught Public Health (3rd year) and Epidemiology and Healthcare Administration and Law (4th year). We are also responsible for the Biomedical Curriculum (Environmental and Industrial Hygiene).
【Section of Public Health】
The amendment to the Medical Care Act in 2016 stipulates improvements in
the working environment of medical institutions, and as part of the subsequent
work style reform for physicians, a cap on overtime work will be applied
to physicians in 2024. Therefore, we are conducting research on ways to
improve working conditions so that physicians, as professionals themselves,
can clarify how they and their colleagues would like to work within appropriate
working hours, rather than simply reducing working hours.
In addition, in our country, where there is a large gender gap, there is
a need to resolve issues related to the health and career development of
working women. In particular, since our university aims to foster female
medical professionals and improve the social status of women, our division
also conducts research on women's health and career development.
【Section of Global Health】
In order to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Department of Tropical Medicine (Malaria Genetics), the Department of Interdisciplinary Regional Research (Field Research), and the Department of Global Health Research (International Health Policy Research) are collaborating with each other. Through education and research activities, we hope to foster human resources with an international perspective and nurture the next generation of leaders who will create a "prosperous society that values life". The research includes genome analysis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, medical care seeking behavior research in Papua New Guinea, and empirical studies in Laos and Kenya, etc. Through various studies based on molecular biology, public health, epidemiology, sociology, development studies, economics, and medical anthropology, we conduct research and leadership education on the future of medicine and social design.
【Section of Environmental and Occupational Medicine】
■Environmental and Occupational Medicine
Our division aims to elucidate the biological effects of environmental factors, particularly metals, neurotoxicants, and micro-particulate matter, at molecular and cellular levels. This will help us to understand how organisms respond to and adapt to environmental stress. We are particularly interested in studying changes in the expression of stress-responsive genes, such as molecular chaperones, via the endoplasmic reticulum (an intracellular organelle), and the toxicological significance of the activation of signalling systems involved in determining 'cell survival and death'. To achieve this, we use the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as model animals, as well as various cultured cells, and employ a molecular biological approach. We conduct research using a molecular biological approach.
■Healthcare and Hospital Administration
Our research covers hospital management, medical safety, medical ethics, healthcare worker labour, medical law and healthcare policy.
Professor and Division head Michiko NOHARA
Professor Ken MASAMUNE (on joint appointment)
Lecturer Hajime HONMA (Section of Global Health)
Lecturer Norihiro NAKAJIMA (Section of Environmental and Occupational Medicine)
Lecturer Keiko HIROTA (Section of Environmental and Occupational Medicine)
Division of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine
Subjects in charge: Epidemiology/Medical Statistics, Clinical Epidemiology/EBM, Epidemiology/Clinical Epidemiology Intensive Discussion, Experiments and Practical Training (Problem-Based Research), Practical Training in Social Medicine
Research Achievements Database (Public Health)
Research Achievements Database (Public Health, Section of Global Health)
〒162-8666
8-1, Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
TEL +81-3-3353-8111