[Infectious diseases that people should be informed: a Delphi survey of clinicians engaged in practice of infectious diseases in Japan].
OBJECTIVE
To identify specific infectious diseases about which the Japanese public should be informed.


METHODS
A Delphi survey was conducted, recruiting 26 physicians who are engaged in clinical practice of infectious diseases and working at designated medical institutions of infectious diseases in Japan.


RESULTS
Following HIV/AIDS (first ranked), tuberculosis (second) and influenza (third), 24 diseases in total were identified based on "knowledge, awareness and behavior of inhabitants" or "social and clinico-epidemiological circumstances". Scores for the top three ranked diseases were more than two-folds of those for following diseases. Among the top 10 ranked diseases, 9 were in common with the previous survey result among public health physicians and veterinarians working for governmental agencies.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings of scores for specific diseases most likely reflect an importance of performing preventions and early diagnoses of severe diseases and promoting prophylaxis for travelers' diseases which tend to be factors for prioritizing infectious diseases among clinicians. The top-scored diseases among clinicians were consistent with those among public health officers, indicating the critical need to inform the public about these diseases. Nevertheless, both clinicians and public health experts have already attempted to promote preventions and/or treatment for these diseases in the previous time, and thus, the previous experience must be critically reviewed and reconsidered for improvements. In future, the similar surveys to ours should target specific subjects of experts and investigate more specific types of infectious diseases. Following such an expert survey, concrete action plans to inform the public about prioritized diseases are also called for.
Kashiwagi
Tomoko
T
Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Juntendo University.
Horiguchi
Itsuko
I
Ishikawa
Naoko
N
Marui
Eiji
E
D003697:Delphi Technique; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control; D007239:Infections; D007564:Japan