-Original-

Qualitative Analysis of Newspaper Articles to Standardize the Social Background of Simulated Patients: A Pilot Study on Caregiving

Terumichi Fujikura¹, Yumiko Okubo², Masahiko Inamori³, Yoshiaki Hayasaka¹ and Namiko Taniuchi¹

¹Center for Medical Education, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
²Department of Medical Education, Teikyo University, Tokyo, Japan
³Department of Medical Education, Yokohama City University, Kanagawa, Japan

Background: Public engagement in medical education, including the participation of simulated patients, has a favorable influence on students. In Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) scenarios, the psychological and social aspects in the biopsychosocial model of the patient do not seem to have been adequately considered. The objective of this study was to identify a series of strategies to explore the concerns of the general public and reflect these concerns in the background characteristics of simulated patients. To enhance understanding, we will also discuss specific examples from studies.
Methods: This study used qualitative document analysis of newspaper articles submitted by the general public. We searched for frequently occurring words in 1,127 articles, and 455 frequent words were selected as potential targets for this study. In this pilot study, the word "caregiving" was selected for analysis, and 43 articles containing this word were included in the database. Extracted texts were qualitatively analyzed using steps for coding and theorizing to generate emergent themes.
Results: A storyline was obtained to establish the simulated patient background for the OSCE. We were able to integrate patient background, such as, "a company employee who regrets not being able to provide the care he had envisioned while balancing work and caregiving."
Conclusions: The background of simulated patients in medical education can be formulated through document analysis of newspaper articles. Future studies should attempt to verify the validity of this strategy.

J Nippon Med Sch 2026; 93: 25-36

Keywords
simulated patients, qualitative research, newspaper articles, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations, biopsychosocial model

Correspondence to
Terumichi Fujikura
teru-fujik@nms.ac.jp

Received, April 2, 2025
Accepted, September 17, 2025