Background: This narrative review aimed to reevaluate the medical tourism sector in Iran to reveal the new trends and activities in order to know the current actual share of Iran in the competitive market of global medical tourism. Methods: A holistic approach was adopted to analyze the information collected through a system of investigation that comprised the available secondary data, besides the information and statistical data about the associated organizations to this sector in Iran. Results: Iran’s medical tourism sector is consistent with the new trends in global market, which is mainly bordered countries-based, cultural-oriented, and diasporic type of travelling. Conclusion: It would be more realistic in the contemporary situation to focus the promotions on the border countries, and design the policy, and implementation in accordance with their cultural and social preferences. Activities in both levels of governmental and micro-level planning are demanded, under the cover of a comprehensive monitoring system. This review will benefit researchers exploring the updated evaluation of Iran’s medical tourism; also, it provides helpful insights to authorities in both governmental and private sector.

Background: Medical tourism is a type of service sector in which there is direct interaction between healthcare practitioners and patient-customers, leading to several challenges due to cultural and social background differences. We aimed to investigate the determinants of delivering a culturally-oriented service in medical tourism sector. Methods: Adopting an exploratory qualitative approach, interviews were conducted through a semi-structured procedure with authorities across various medical sectors in South Korea in winter 2017. Participants were all involved in and aware of the medical tourism sector, both academically and clinically. The interview transcripts were coded through a systematic thematic analysis. Results: In order to focus on non-clinical service in medical tourism sector, and a system of cultural competence delivery, three main themes were identified: 1) The personal characteristics of doctors; 2) External supports to be provided by the associated organisations; and finally, 3) Skilfulness, which implies the culturallyoriented interaction with foreign patients. Conclusion: Several strategies are suggested to address the non-clinical challenges and conflicts in doctorpatient interaction in the sector of medical tourism. It is likely that providing a culturally-oriented service in this sector demands for a comprehensive planning, and several strategies for implementation in order to support and train a team of skilful doctors with non-clinical characteristics. These finding will likely have insights for those organisations searching to improve their performance in the medical tourism sector.

The experiences of South Korea in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) is valuable as a successful strategic plan. However, this research aimed to investigate the effective factors in this process from different perspectives. Based on an analysis of the available information and statistics published by the government, World Health Organization, and local organizations, this research was searching for not only the effective approaches in controlling the transmission but also the effective factors that roots in Korean cultural background and lifestyle. The critical points in controlling the virus transmission in Korea have been to respond promptly, besides of designing an active system of tracing, and early detection. The supply chain management prevented any shortage on the required products. Advanced technology guaranteed the safety of the medical facilities. However, another efficient factor was the Korean social and cultural background, besides the national solidarity. The findings highlight that the mechanisms that help South Korea fight in controlling the transmissions of the pandemic were in line with the World Health Organization’s recommendation. However, South Korea gained advantages from other factors that have roots in their social interactions, cultural background, and the well-established and advanced IT systems that enabled the government to manage the outbreak of COVID-19.

Background: This study attempted to identify the problem South Korea faces in its development of the medical tourism industry from the perspective of English education. Methods: To assess the preparedness and problems of future Korean nurses in dealing with foreign patients, a questionnaire was conducted in 2017 on 146 freshman and sophomore nursing major students at CHA University in South Korea. Results: Although the nursing major students were highly satisfied with the English instructors, they did not feel that the curriculum prepared them well to deal with foreign patients in the future. They also felt that the teaching methodology employed in the class should be changed to incorporate more medical content into the nursing English program. Conclusion: In order for South Korea to play a bigger role in the medical tourism industry, higher education institutions for medicine need to pay more attention to the English education of their students. More specifically, team-taught English for Specific Purposes (ESP) curricula should be established in order to meet the needs of future medical professionals.

The Motherhood Protection Act (1996), which corresponds to modern family health in Japan, was enacted based on the Eugenics Protection Law (1948) for the protection of national eugenics. This leads us to the question of how maternal health and eugenics began to merge in Japan. Answer of this will elucidate the characteristics of family health in Japan and historical background. Maternal health and eugenics began to be fused in Japan in the early 20th century. In this paper, we examined Taikyō, which is the source of this fusion. This book was widely disseminated to the public. An educational book influenced the Japanese women’s movement. Taikyō argued that from the standpoint of public health, responsibility for prenatal care should be extended to the husband, family, society and the nation. It emphasized that “mental hygiene” is necessary to produce a genetically good child, and that spouse selection is important. Books on prenatal care published in the first half of the 20th century, following Taikyō’s description of prenatal care as a form of eugenics. The National Eugenic Act enacted to protect national hygiene inspired the classification of the Japanese as ​​a chosen nation. The theory of prenatal care, which was created from the combination of public hygiene and eugenics, provided a justification for the National Eugenic Act, and this still serves as the basis for the Eugenics Protection Law and Motherhood Protection Act. It provides the “scientific basis” for recognizing that “unsanitary” and “disability” are bad.