ArticleBMC health services research2025
Rural and urban disparities in access and quality of healthcare in the Japanese healthcare system: a scoping review.
Article in BMC health services research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of rural residence on clinical outcomes in SLE: a systematic review.Lupus science & medicine · 2025Pooled it
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- No regional survival disparities following curative gastrectomy in patients aged over 80 years with gastric cancer. a multicenter retrospective study.Surgery today · 2026Article
- Prefecture-Level Prehospital Glucose Administration for Hypoglycemia and Diabetologist Density Among Older Adults in Japan: A Nationwide Ecological Study.Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Shared Decision Making as a Policy and Clinical Framework for the Responsible Introduction of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy in Japan.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Blood pressure status, JSH 2019-based control rate, and associated factors among community-dwelling adults: The NOSE study.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Article
- Access to health services and perceived quality of primary care in rural Ancash, Peru.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Testing and evaluating updated variants of the rurality index for Japan: a nationwide methodological study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Association of Geographical Distance and Residential Population Density With Clinical Outcomes in Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Insights From the Kyoto Congestive Heart Failure (KCHF) Registry.Circulation reports · 2026Article
- Nationwide Comparison of ICU Procedure Frequencies in Japan Using a Public Open Database: A Cross-Sectional Study by ICU Admission Fee Type and Region.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Geographic barriers and transportation burden in rural cancer care: a GIS-based assessment of support needs among non-cohabiting family caregivers.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2026Article
- Communication features of ChatGPT responses and care-seeking intention for syphilis in Japan: a controlled dialogue experiment.Journal of rural medicine : JRM · 2026Article
- Causes of medical disputes in China and Japan from physicians' perspectives: a qualitative study.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- Association Between Rurality and Financial Performance of Public Hospitals in Japan: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of general and family medicine · 2026Article
- Silent Dissatisfaction Despite High Patient Satisfaction Scores: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Survey of Urban Patients with Prior Rural Care Experience at a Tokyo Dental Clinic.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Review
- Barriers to Timely Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) in Rural vs. Urban Settings: A Health System Approach.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Health Behaviors in Older Adults: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Balancing costs and care: a healthcare cost analysis for families of children with Down syndrome in Saudi Arabia.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe rural-urban disparity in healthcare quality is a global issue. Compared with living in urban areas, living in rural areas is associated with poorer healthcare outcomes. Moreover, the shortage of healthcare providers in rural areas is a worldwide concern. This scoping review aims to map existing evidence regarding rural-urban disparities in access and quality of healthcare in Japan using the Donabedian model as a theoretical framework and to identify conceptual and measurement gaps.
methodsThis review targeted published articles and gray literature. We included documents that (1) were based on Japanese populations and (2) compared the quality of care between defined rural and urban areas. We excluded articles if they (1) were published during or before 2005 since the Japanese government amended the Medical Care Law in 2006; (2) focused exclusively on urban or rural areas; or (3) were not published in English or Japanese. This study employed PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Japanese medical literature database, ICHUSHI, and CiNii Research. We extracted quality indicators (structure, process, and outcomes) based on the Donabedian model. We recorded the definitions or indicators of rurality described by the studies.
resultsOut of 5,020 articles, 15 were included. Only one study was conducted in a primary care setting. Moreover, no study evaluated the "outcomes" of the Donabedian model in a primary care setting. Regarding the definitions or indices of rurality, the most commonly used indicator of rurality was population size, followed by population density. The cutoff values or descriptions of rurality using these indicators differed across studies.
conclusionThis study mapped rural-urban disparities in access and quality of healthcare in Japan. These findings highlight the need to evaluate rural-urban disparities in the "outcomes" of care in primary care settings in Japan and the lack of common indicators of rurality.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.