International Students’ Experience With Health Care in Japan

Abstract

The number of foreign residents and visitors in Japan is increasing, which necessitates culturally competent care in hospitals. This study aimed to describe the experience of international students who visited hospitals in Japan. In total, nine international graduate students in a medical university participated in semi-structured interviews in English. The interview contents were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. While participants were satisfied with an efficient medical system and kind staff, they also had difficulty communicating with staff and receiving health care due to language and cultural differences. Participants desired Japanese health care staff speak English, as well as have English documents. The differences from their own countries were mainly medical fees, insurance, the medical system itself, and use of English to communicate with foreign patients. It is necessary to improve staff’s English skills, provide English documents, use multilanguage interpreter services, and explain Japanese hospitals’ medical system.