University of the Ryukyus · Graduate School of Health Sciences / Department of Health Sciences · 准教授

Research keywordsglobal health・maternal and child health・community health workers・postnatal care services・environmental health・malaria awareness

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• To what extent do people in malaria-endemic countries know asymptomatic malaria infections? A systematic review2026 · Bouwe, T; Ahissou, NCA; Kikuchi, K; Iwagami, M; Nonaka, D
• Association of Military Aircraft Noise Exposure with Mental Well-Being and Sleep Disturbance near a Military Air Base in Okinawa, Japan: An Ecological Study.2025 · Maekawa Y, Nonaka D, Kawamoto S, Maeda Y, Toyama Y
• Effectiveness of Village Health Volunteers/Workers Working as Male-Female Pairs on Women's Use of Postnatal Care Services in Sepone District in Lao People's Democratic Republic: A Protocol for a Quasi-experimental Cluster Study.2025 · Ahissou NCA, Uehara M, Nonaka D, Vongphoumy I, Pongvongsa T, Ounlienvongsack K, Phongluxa K, Kounnavong S, Kobayashi J
• Effect of trust in village health workers on the use of facility-based follow-up postnatal care services in two districts in the Lao People's Democratic Republic2024 · BACKGROUND: Despite high coverage of antenatal care services (89.8%) and facility-based deliveries (79.8%), delayed initiation or lack of follow-up postnatal care (PNC) visits remains a challenge in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Follow-up PNC encourages healthy lifestyles and monitoring mothers' and newborns' health to decrease postpartum complications and hospital readmissions. While village health volunteers and workers (VHVs/VHWs) are essential for health promotion in Lao PDR, the extent to which mothers' trust in VHVs/VHWs helps promote better service utilization has not been studied. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the trust levels in VHVs/VHWs among ethnic minority mothers and the influence on the use of facility-based follow-up PNC. METHODS: We utilized cross-sectional data from July and August 2024, collected as a baseline survey for a quasi-experimental study conducted in 35 villages across the Sepone and Vilabuly districts. We compared the respondents' PNC usage and characteristics using chi-square tests and Fisher's exact tests. Standard binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the effects of various factors on the utilization of facility-based follow-up PNC. Trust in VHVs/VHWs was a construct variable based on their provision of emotional support, relevant information, adequate discussion time, effective care, and the likelihood of future pregnancy-related care. RESULTS: The study enrolled 241 mothers (mean age 24 years, SD 5.7), including 110 from Sepone and 131 from Vilabuly. Overall, the follow-up PNC coverage rate was 19.0%, and there was no significant difference between Sepone and Vilabuly, despite variations in access to healthcare and engagement with VHVs/VHWs. High trust in VHVs/VHWs was linked to 12.25 times higher odds of utilizing follow-up PNC than low trust (95% CI 2.2-67.8). In addition, having an older child (9-12 months) and immediate PNC utilization were beneficial for subsequent PNC use. Unexpectedly, contact with VHVs/VHWs during prenatal and/or postnatal periods decreased the odds of utilizing follow-up PNC, with distance to health facilities and adherence to traditional gender norms also having a similar negative effect. CONCLUSIONS: Facility-based follow-up postnatal care was critically low among respondents; however, increasing trust in VHVs/VHWs may foster improvements. Along with increasing contact frequency, offering quality support to mothers through VHVs/VHWs while emphasizing the complementary nature of community-based and facility-based care could be beneficial. Effective interventions may also include enhancing immediate PNC and tackling physical accessibility challenges, as well as restrictive gender norms through male involvement.

• 米軍基地由来の航空機騒音が近隣住民の健康に及ぼす影響：精神的健康度・睡眠・肥満2025 · 基盤研究(C)
• 途上国における石鹸を用いた手洗い行動普及のためのポジティブデビエンス・アプローチ2019 · 基盤研究(C)
• プライマリ・ヘルスケアに基づく地域診断ツールの開発と評価：無作為化比較試験2016 · 基盤研究(C)

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