[Evaluation of the effective use of the "health notebook"]

Since 1983, with the institution of the "Health Service Law for the Aged", the "health notebook" has been issued to people aged 40 years and over in order to aid in management of their health. Few people actually fill their health data in notebook by themselves. In order to develop effective use of the health notebook by residents and health professionals, the uses of the health notebooks by residents aged 40 years and over, public health nurses, and physicians were investigated. Three hundred and fifty four residents aged 40 and over, 41 public health nurses, and 18 physicians were studied in 1990, in Yamagata city. A majority of residents took their health notebooks with them to health consultations, and public health nurses used the notebooks to provide advice to them. Public health nurses effectively issued the health notebooks to residents using occasions where residents gathered. Some physicians reported that health notebooks were useful for motivating the people to maintain their health, while others preferred using a health card media. When comparing the health notebooks to the maternity passbooks, health notebooks need to be more easily utilized by users for recording information, and their value should be effectively explained to them. Furthermore, in order to promote self-care behaviors, greater use of health notebooks by all health professionals in indicated.