Research on motivation for altruistic behavior of doctors and application to professionalism education

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25460617
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Medical sociology
• Research Institution: Osaka Medical College (2014-2017); Nagoya University (2013)
• Principal Investigator: Suzuki Tomio 大阪医科大学, 医学部, 特別任命教員教授 (50343207)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 錦織 宏 京都大学, 医学研究科, 准教授 (10463837)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ODA Ryo 名古屋工業大学, 大学院工学研究科, 教授 (50303920)
• Research Collaborator: 松井 智子
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 質的研究 / 利他主義

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Professionalism in medical education has recently become a topic of interest. We conducted semi-structured interviews for doctors who went to areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake for medical support, principally regarding their motives. Interview data were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, followed by analysing it using qualitative research methods. The following concepts were extracted as motives for conducting support in disaster-stricken areas: ‘prosocial orientation’, ‘testing clinical ability ’, ‘wanting a physical experience’, ‘sense of belonging’, ‘noblesse oblige’ and ‘feeling of guilty’. The result appears that the motives were related to their desires and dilemmas as humans and professionals rather than simply to the concept of ‘altruism’. Using the results of case studies will enrich concrete and practical study of the motives and attitudes of doctors conducting prosocial behaviour for both educators and learners.

Free Research Field

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