Situational analysis of maternal and child health services for foreign residents in Japan.
BACKGROUND
Since the 1980s, the number of foreign residents in Japan has continuously been on the rise. In order to improve the foreign resident support services infrastructure and effectiveness, a survey was conducted at a national level from February to August 2002. The survey was done via a mailed questionnaire to all municipalities in Japan.


METHODS
For the purpose of the study, municipalities were divided into four groups based on level of urbanization and numbers of foreign residents in the area. The situation of the foreign maternal and child support programs were compared and the municipal administrations were evaluated. In addition, the attribution analysis and evaluation of the foreigner support program was conducted in each municipality group.


RESULTS
The evaluation of the current service support program for foreigner was not judged positively in the majority (95%) of the municipalities. In the non-urbanized municipalities with a low composition of foreigners, the foreigner mother and child support program were not functional compared with other regions. Additionally, various factors were highlighted based on attribution analysis among each group. Although most of the municipalities recognized the importance of the foreign resident support program, the evaluations showed a wide gap between intention and reality.


CONCLUSIONS
It is recommended that the barriers as identified in the research results are rectified, and the current situation improved based on municipality characteristics, local demands and the needs of the population. The efficient use of limited fiscal and human resources is also advocated by strengthening of cooperation with other official bodies and also employing foreign residents to work in public offices for facilitating the foreign residents support programs.
Hotta
Masanaka
M
Department of Developmental Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Ali
Moazzam
M
Ushijima
Hiroshi
H
Lee
Setsuko
S
Nakamura
Yasuhide
Y
Shigeta
Masanobu
M
Kobayashi
Noboru
N
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003144:Communication Barriers; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D016015:Logistic Models; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy