ホンガク ドウソウ カイイン ノ キンム ジョウキョウ : ジョセイ イシ シエン オ メザス ヨビテキ ケンキュウ トシテ

雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保のために,「男女雇用機会均等法」が成立し,妊娠や出産を理由として職場で不利益な取り扱いをすることは禁じられている1).さらに,「男女共同参画社会基本法」が施行され,2006 年には日本医師会に男女共同参画委員会が設立している2).しかし,我が国の女性医師の就労に影響を与える因子を検討した先行研究によると,性差による就労上の不利益を経験した女性医師が多く,就労格差を女性医師は強く認識しているという結論となっている3).このことは日本ばかりではなく,海外でも同様に報告されている4,5).特に,女性医師は男性医師に比較して,非常勤パートタイムで勤務することが多いと報告されている3,4).パートタイムで働く主たる理由は,出産と子育てである5).多くの女性医師が子育てを優先するために仕方なくパートタイム勤務を選択していることは事実である.また,母性を優先させる選択は職場での昇進・キャリアアップを閉ざすという結果につながる 3).しかし,一方で女性にとって出産や育児は非常に大切な母性の獲得であり,出産を経験した女性医師は医師を職業として選択したことにより満足していると報告されている6).これが女性医師にとってのワーク・ライフ・バランスのジレンマになっている.さらに,現在,医師を養成する大学医学部では,男女は平等に入学できるが,過酷な労働を強いられる大学病院では,女性医師は常勤勤務から離職せざるを得なくなるというアンバランスが生じている.本研究は,本学の女性医師支援のあり方を考える予備的研究として,本学同窓会会員の現況報告を検討し,さらに女性医師支援に関する先行文献を考察することを目的とした

Review of school vision screening guidelines

Abstract: Background: Vision screenings are important in identifying visual anomalies likely to disrupt the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of children. School health services globally include vision screenings, complementing a variety of associated screening services. Aim: This review article provides evidence for content, provision and efficacy of the vision screening services for children of school-going age and reports on the current practice of children’s vision screenings worldwide including in South Africa. Methods: Studies were identified from PubMed, Ebscohost and Science Direct with the search terms utilised during the selection of electronic articles and journals for the review. The target population includes children of school-going age from 6 to 19 years without previously known conditions associated with visual anomalies and learning-related problems. The quality of vision screening programmes and policies for the school-going age children in different countries were evaluated using Wilson and Jungner criteria.1 Results: Vision screening programmes worldwide appear to support comprehensive vision screening methods among pre-schoolers (from birth to ≤ 6 years vs. children of school-going age). The development of vision screening procedures in some countries in the United States of America (USA) was found to be grounded on epidemiologic findings and principles. These may have contributed towards the formulation of national vision screening guidelines for preschoolers that supported the detection of amblyopia and its associated conditions such as strabismus, anisometropia and myopia. School-going children’s vision screenings are not supported worldwide as research has shown that there is lack of benefits for detecting other visual anomalies such as vergence and accommodative dysfunctions. This is despite evidence provided by the literature reviewed that an association exists between prevalent accommodation and vergence dysfunctions including poor ocular motilities and poor near-vision, among children of school-going age with poor academic performance. Conclusion: The guidelines worldwide support school vision screenings, especially for the pre-schoolers by the school health nurses, with other programs having considered the teachers, optometrists or orthoptists as the appropriate personnel to conduct the school vision screenings. There is still a need for the effectiveness of the school vision-screening programmes to be investigated related to the importance of detecting convergence and accommodative dysfunctions for the school going age children

Commentary on: ‘Pacifiers Use in Term Infants and Breastfeeding: Caution with the Cochrane Results’

This is a commentary of Cochrane review, published in this issue of EBCH, first published as: Jaafar SH, Jahanfar S, Angolkar M, Ho JJ. Pacifier use versus no pacifier use in breastfeeding term infants for increasing duration of breastfeeding. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD007202. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007202.pub2