Objectives of the Nursing Division of the Public Health and Welfare Section for Midwifery in Japan According to the General Headquarters Records

• Project/Area Number: 25893218
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Fundamental nursing
• Research Institution: Sapporo University of Health Sciences
• Principal Investigator: FUNAKI SAORI 札幌保健医療大学, 看護学部, 助教 (00714396)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-08-30 – 2015-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
• Budget Amount: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
• Keywords: 看護政策史 / 助産婦 / 看護政策

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study analyzed General Headquarters (GHQ) Reports until the enactment of the Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives, and Nurses in 1948, with the aim of clarifying the objectives of the Public Health and Welfare Section (PHW) Nursing Division for midwives in Japan. The results indicated that from immediately after the military occupation, majority of the content published in the GHQ Reports were related to the information and review of midwifery education. This indicated that the PHW Nursing Division was working to reform midwifery education from before the occupation as part of nursing education reform. It appears that the PHW Nursing Division had recognized the necessity of a midwifery system in Japan, by collecting information related to midwifery and direct interactions with midwives. Based on this recognition, the PHW Nursing Division enacted the Act on Public Health Nurses, Midwives, and Nurses in which the specialty of each of these professions differed.