Hiroshima International Council for Health Care of the Radiation-exposed

HICARE offers training programs and accepts medical personnel directly engaged in the treatment of radiation-exposed individuals in affected areas throughout the world, to impart technical guidance and medical information. So far, HICARE has accepted about 360 trainees to its training programs. This figure increases to about 1,300 if we include training programs which were conducted party at the request of other organizations, such as the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA).

Requirements for Training
a. As a rule, an application must be made from an international organization, foreign national government, foreign local government, medical association, or other equivalent public organizations through a Japanese official body.
b. The applicant must be a physician or a medical professional who engages in medical care/health management of the radiation-exposed.
c. The applicant applying for a long-term training(more than two weeks) must have a good command of English - the language of instruction.
d. The main purpose of training must be to acquire knowledge and technical skills in medical care/health management of the radiation-exposed.

Medical/Research Institutions Providing Training for HICARE
- Hiroshima University Faculty of Medicine
- Hiroshima University Hospital
- Hiroshima University Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation
- Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Casualty Council
- Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic-Bomb Survivors Hospital
- Hiroshima A-bomb survivors Relief Foundation
- Others


Training Courses/Curriculums

HICARE sends physicians and other medical specialists abroad, to provide technical guidance and medical information to medical personnel who engage in the treatment of exposed individuals in affected areas around the world, and to deliver reports at relevant international conferences.
　

Number of Persons Dispatched
Thus far, HICARE has sent about 200 persons to 16 countries in Asia, North America, Central/South America, and Europe.
In Japan, following the criticality accident at the Tokaimura nuclear facility in 1999, Ibaraki Prefecture requested HICARE to provide support. In response, HICARE dispatched a team of nine experts, including physicians, nurses, and radiological technicians, in order to measure radiation levels of the local resident and conduct physical checkups, and to measure radioactivity in the soil in the affected areas.
Also, in response to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake, HICARE dispatched a team of specialists at the request of Fukushima Prefecture. The team, comprising six members including radiological technicians, and nurses, was sent to measure radiation doses of the local people.
　
Major Examples
●Training courses on medical care for A-bomb survivors
　2007 Brazil
　2009 United States(States of California and Washington)
　2012 United States(State of Hawaii)
　
●Technical guidance 　
　Kazakhstan, Belarus
　
●Attendance at international conferences
　Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network(REMPAN) meetings, conferences related to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) international confereces, etc.
　
●Visit to the World Health Organization(WHO)
　Opinion exchange regarding care for radiation-exposed individuals, including victims of the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant accident.

We provide lectures and seminars, and carry out various other acticities to inform the public about the significance and necessity of promoting international cooperation in medical care for the radiation-exposed.

Lectures and Seminars
November 23 & 24, 2011
2011 HICARE International Symposium on "The Effects of Radiation on the Human Body"
The symposium was to enlighten the international community on the contributions we have made to the world in the past 20 years. It was also the first joint program of the Practical Arrangements between the IAEA and HICARE for cooperation in the field of medical care for radiation-exposed.

Publishing Projects
In 1992, HICARE published "Effects of A-Bomb Radiation on the Human Body," as a handbook for medical personnel on medical care of A-bomb survivors. The handbook was highly acclaimed as the culmination of research accumulated over 46 years of dealing with medical issues resulting form A-bomb exposure.
The second edition of "Effects of A-Bomb Radiation on the Human Body" was released in 2012 as part of a project to commemorate the 20th anniversary of HICARE, by completely revising the first edition and incorporating the latest research results and findings accumulated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.