Japanese Association of Health Communication(JAHC)

About the Japanese Association of Health Communication (JAHC)

In Japan, the importance of health communication was recognized by many Japanese health professionals and researchers in the 2000s, and the number of researchers in this area had gradually increased. However, at that time there were no academic associations with the words, “health communication”, in their names. Therefore, four researchers in this area, Takahiro Kiuchi (The University of Tokyo), Takeo Nakayama (Kyoto University), Tomoko Araki (Kyushu University), and Akihito Hagiwara (Kyushu University) met several times and established the Japanese Association of Health Communication in 2009. The Association's first annual conference was held in Tokyo on July 10, 2009. An annual conference has been held every year since then. We believe that the establishment of this association greatly contributed to the recognition of health communication as an important and independent research area, and has promoted health communication studies and related activities in Japan.

Both practice and research are important in health communication. We assumed that health communication researchers should have abilities to broadly and systematically teach students in medical universities and train staff in hospitals and public/private agencies, and to conduct in-depth research on specified health communication topics.

We believe that health communication practice, studies, and education are essential in all areas of healthcare and public health. We hope that all medical universities in Japan will have at least one dedicated health communication researcher as a permanent staff member and offer lectures and practical training to students.

Board

1. Takahiro Kiuchi, M.D., Ph.D. (President)
   (Professor, Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo)
2. Takeo Nakayama, M.D., Ph.D. (Vice President)
   (Professor, Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University)
3. Akira Miyahara, Ph.D. (Vice President)
   (Professor, Division of Foreign Languages, Department of Literature, Seinan Gakuin University)
4. Hirono Ishikawa, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health)
5. Naomi Sugimoto, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University)
6. Tomoko Takayama, R.N., Ph.D.
   (Chief, Division of Cancer Information Service, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center) / Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Communication, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo
7. Kazuhiko Fujisaki, M.D., Ph.D.
   (Professor, Virtual Skill Division, Medical Education Development Center, Gifu University)

Representatives

1. Miki Akiyama, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University)
2. Keiko Abe, R.N., Ph.D.
   (Professor, College of Nursing, Aichi Medical University)
3. Noriko Igarashi, Ph.D.
   (Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Welfare, Niigata University of Health and Welware)
4. Mitsuho Ikeda, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Center for the Study of CO* Design, Osaka University)
5. Hirono Ishikawa, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health)
6. Masato Ishizaki, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies)
7. Miho Iwakuma, Ph.D.
   (Associate Professor, Department of Medical Communication, School of Public Health, Kyoto University)
8. Naoko Ono, Ph.D.
   (Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Liberal Arts, Juntendo University)
9. Sawako Okamoto, Ph.D.
   (Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Nara Medical University)
10. Tsuyoshi Okuhara, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo)
11. Hiroyuki Kawaguchi, D.D.S.,Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Advanced General Dentistry, Hiroshima University Hospital)
12. Michie Kawashima, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Kyoto Sangyo University)
13. Yoko Kawamura, Ph.D., MPH
    (Professor, Department of Health Sciences, University of Occupational and Environmental Health)
14. Takahiro Kiuchi, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo)
15. Makoto Kikukawa, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University)
16. Kyoko Kitazawa, M.P.H.
    (Visiting Professor, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University)
17. Yukiko Sakai, Ph.D.
    (Senior Manager, Policy Data Lab, Tokyo Foundation of Policy Research)
18. Keiko Sakakibara, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University)
19. Takashi Shimazaki, Ph.D.
    (Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Physical Education, Faculty of Humanities, Sophia University)
20. Machi Suka, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Public Health and Environmental Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine)
21. Naomi Sugimoto, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, Keio University)
22. Hiroki Sugimori, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Faculty of Sports and Health Science, Daito Bunka University)
23. Daisuke Son, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.P.E.
    (Department of Community-based Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine)
24. Shigeru Takanaga, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Hiroshima University)
25. Tomoko Takayama, R.N., Ph.D.
    (Chief, Division of Cancer Information Service, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center / Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Communication, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
26. Norihiro Taguchi, D.D.S., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Dental Education, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University)
27. Koji Takenaka, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University)
28. Toru Takabayashi, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, Keio University)
29. Keiko Tsuchiya, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Urban Social and Cultural Studies, Yokohama City University)
30. Kazuhiro Nakayama, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Nursing Informatics, St. Luke's International University)
31. Takeo Nakayama, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Health Informatics, School of Public Health, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University)
32. Ikuko Noro, Ph.D.
    (Professor, School of Medicine, Jikei University)
33. Akihito Haihara, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, Kyushu University)
34. Satoshi Hasegawa, Ph.D.
    (Professor, School of Nursing and Social Services, Health Science University of Hokkaido)
35. Masayo Hayakawa, Ph.D.
    (Section Head, Cancer Information Service Division, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center)
36. Makiko Haraki, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, School of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University)
37. Kazuhiko Fujisaki, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Virtual Skill Division, Medical Education Development Center, Gifu University)
38. Maiko Fujimori, Ph.D.
    (Section Head, Behavioral Sciences and Survivorship Research Group, Center for Public Health Sciences, National Cancer Center)
39. Mieko Homma, Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, School of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University)
40. Akira Miyahara, Ph.D.
    (Professor, Division of Foreign Languages, Department of Literature, Seinan Gakuin University)
41. Rina Miyawaki, Ph.D.
    (Assistant Professor, School of Arts and Letters, Meiji University)
42. Seiji Yasumura, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Professor, Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University)
43. Chikako Yamaki, Ph.D.
    (Section Head, Cancer Information Service Division, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center)
44. Kiyotaka Watanabe, M.D., Ph.D.
    (Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University)

Auditor

1. Akihito Hagihara, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, Kyushu University)

Editorial committee

1. Akira Miyahara, Ph.D. (Chairperson)
   (Professor, Division of Foreign Languages, Department of Literature, Seinan Gakuin University)
2. Miho Iwakuma, Ph.D.
   (Associate Professor, Department of Medical Communication, School of Public Health, Kyoto University)
3. Keiko Sakakibara, Ph.D.
   (Associate Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Faculty of Sociology, Toyo University)
4. Daisuke Son, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.P.E.
   (Department of Community-based Family Medicine, School of Medicine, Tottori University Faculty of Medicine)
5. Shigeru Takanaga, Ph.D.
   (Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Hiroshima University)
6. Tomoko Takayama, R.N, Ph.D.
   (Chief, Division of Cancer Information Service, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center)
7. Mieko Homma, Ph.D.
   (Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, School of Health and Social Services, Saitama Prefectural University)

Office