Gaps in Primary Health Care Education in Japanese Pharmacy Curricula

Primary Health Care (PHC) is essential for sustainable health systems, and pharmacists are increasingly expected to contribute through community-based roles. However, the extent to which PHC is officially incorporated into pharmacy education in Japan remains unclear. Herein, we conducted a nationwide content analysis using publicly available syllabi targeting all 81 pharmacy schools in Japan for the 2024 academic year. Our keyword-based analysis assessed the presence and framing of PHC-related content. The result revealed that only three institutions among syllabi available 63 institutions (4.8%) explicitly referenced PHC in curricula. Specifically, in two courses, PHC was presented within a global health context, whereas another displayed the term in the self-medication context. Our findings may indicate a misalignment between evolving global expectations of pharmacists' roles in the context of PHC and current pharmacy education in Japan. Potential contributing factors include the absence of PHC in the national core curriculum, and limited faculty expertise in the field. As Japan seeks to sustain universal health coverage in the face of demographic complexity, strengthening PHC-related education may be beneficial. Greater emphasis on conceptual clarity and explicit integration of PHC into pharmacy curricula could be the first step towards preparing future pharmacists to meet emerging healthcare needs.