Establishment of a "Correct use of medicine" educational program for health and physical education at junior high schools

Abstract

Under new courses of study, medicine-related content has been incorporated into health and physical education at junior high schools, and classes on the "Correct use of medicine" began as part of this content in 2012. Based on the "School Health and Safety Law" implemented in April 2009, health guidance provided by school physicians, pharmacists, and dentists has also been incorporated. This has raised expectations that educational programs concerning the "Correct use of medicine" could be effectively implemented through cooperation between school pharmacists and health and physical education teachers. In order to clarify current knowledge and awareness regarding the "Correct use of medicine" among students, as well as the guidance provided at schools, we conducted a training workshop for teachers at elementary and junior high schools in Gifu City. Based on the results, we developed a "Correct use of medicine" educational program. We then presented this program in a class with 40 third-year junior high school students on January 31, 2012. It consisted of an introduction (7 min), a development portion (35 min), and a conclusion (8 min). After the class, a question and answer session was held with observers (n=11) and a questionnaire survey, which resulted in high evaluations, was conducted on the students. Comments including concern over the large volume of educational content and the need to raise awareness were heard, but the results of the questionnaire survey showed that many students found the class content useful and interesting. © 2013 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.