Deconstructing the masculinized assumption of the medical profession: narratives of Japanese physician fathers.

BACKGROUND: Gender studies in the medical profession have revealed gender biases associated with being a doctor, a profession often regarded as more suitable for men. The path to gender equality inevitably involves deconstructing this masculinized assumption. Despite the decades-long expectation that ikumen-men who actively participate in childcare in Japan-would contribute to a change toward gender equality, Japanese society is still male dominated, and women suffer from a large gender gap. With the aim of exploring implicit gendered assumptions concerning being a caregiver and a doctor, the authors focused on the experience of individuals juggling the binary roles of a professional and a caregiver. METHODS: The authors conducted subjectivist inductive research, recruited ten Japanese physician fathers through purposive sampling, and collected data through one-to-one semi-structured interviews between October 2017 and December 2018. The authors recorded and transcribed the narrative data, and extracted themes and representative narratives. RESULTS: The study identified three themes about the reproduction and potential change of the gender gap: maintaining gendered assumptions of the medical profession without experiencing conflict, maintaining gendered assumptions of the medical profession while experiencing conflict, and deconstructing gendered assumptions of the medical profession through conflict. The authors found that these negotiations interplayed with the gendered division of labor between male doctors and their wives as well as the patriarchal family structure. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed how gendered assumptions of the medical profession, as well as gender stereotypes and gendered division of household labor, were reproduced in the course of male doctors' negotiations when they became fathers. For male doctors to question their unconscious gender bias, the authors emphasize the importance of men gaining knowledge about gender stereotypes, and propose that educators create such opportunities. Moreover, the authors assert that increasing doctors' awareness of how masculinized assumptions implicitly interact with ideas of being a doctor-an aspect rarely discussed among medical professionals-is crucial for deconstructing the gendered normativity in the medical field.

Healthcare Providers' Perceptions on the Timing of Initial Advance Care Planning Discussions in Japan: a Mixed-Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Most adult patients are willing to discuss advance care planning before the onset of any illness. There might be differences in preferences for timing when it comes to initiating advance care planning discussions by healthcare providers with patients. OBJECTIVE: To identify healthcare providers' willingness to initiate advance care planning discussions in Japan. DESIGN: A mixed-methods questionnaire comprising three case scenarios based on three different illness trajectories. PARTICIPANTS: The study participants were physicians and nurses employed in four community hospitals in Japan. MAIN MEASURES: Percentages of physicians' and nurses' willingness to initiate advance care planning discussions at four stages of patients' illness trajectory were quantitatively determined, and perceptions on preferred timing were qualitatively identified. KEY RESULTS: From 108 physician and 123 nurse respondents (response rate: 99%), 291 physician and 362 nurse responses about three case scenarios were obtained. Overall, 51.2% of physicians and 65.5% of nurses (p < 0.001) accepted discussion before illness. Less than one-third of physicians considered advance care planning a "wise precaution," while about two-thirds of nurses did. Additionally, more than half of both physicians and nurses preferred to postpone advance care planning until the patient's imminent death. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians are less willing than nurses to begin advance care planning discussions before patients' health has deteriorated though most prefer to wait until the patients are close to death. Healthcare providers' attitudes toward advance care planning will need to be addressed to improve rates of completion in Japan.

Patients' preferences and factors influencing initial advance care planning discussions' timing: A cross-cultural mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Although advance care planning discussions are increasingly accepted worldwide, their ideal timing is uncertain and cultural factors may pertain. AIM: To evaluate timing and factors affecting initiation of advance care planning discussions for adult patients in Japan and Taiwan. DESIGN: Mixed-methods questionnaire survey to quantitatively determine percentages of patients willing to initiate advance care planning discussions at four stages of illness trajectory ranging from healthy to undeniably ill, and to identify qualitative perceptions underlying preferred timing. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Patients aged 40-75 years visiting outpatient departments at four Japanese and two Taiwanese hospitals were randomly recruited. RESULTS: Overall (of 700 respondents), 72% (of 365) in Japan and 84% (of 335) in Taiwan (p < 0.001) accepted discussion before illness. In Japan, factors associated with willingness before illness were younger age and rejection of life-sustaining treatments; in Taiwan, older age, stronger social support, and rejection of life-sustaining treatments. Four main categories of attitudes were extracted: the most common welcomed discussion as a wise precaution, responses in this first category outnumbered preference for postponement of discussion until imminent end of life, acceptance of the universal inevitability of death, and preference for discussion at healthcare providers' initiative. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients are willing to begin discussion before their health is severely compromised; about one out of five patients are unwilling to begin until clearly facing death. To promote advance care planning, healthcare providers must be mindful of patients' preferences and factors associated with acceptance and reluctance to initiate advance care planning.

Acute motor-sensory axonal Guillain-Barré syndrome with unilateral facial nerve paralysis after rotavirus gastroenteritis in a 2-year-old boy.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is well known as presenting with acute immune-mediated polyneuropathies, with strong associations with antecedent infections. Several variant forms of GBS have been described, including acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, acute motor axonal neuropathy, acute motor-sensory axonal neuropathy, and sensory GBS. We present a rare case of 2-year-old boy with acute motor and sensory polyneuropathy and left-sided facial nerve paralysis after rotavirus infection. He received immunoglobulin i.v. with subsequent satisfactory recovery.