Original Articles

• Exploring the use of a virtual patient model for teaching clinical empathy to medical students at a tertiary care institute: a cross-sectional study
  Vinayak Sharma, Ashwini A. Mahadule, Arun Goel, Sunita Mittal, Prashant M. Patil, Latika Mohan
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 1–8
• Comparison of AI chatbot-generated and web-based health information on the effects of radiation in fetuses and children
  Shinya Ito, Emi Furukawa, Tsuyoshi Okuhara, Hiroko Okada, Takahiro Kiuchi
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 9-19
• Evaluation of prognostic factors using nutritional indicators in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer
  Mamiko Kuriyama, Makoto Nakao, Ryohei Gomyo, Mariko Hasegawa, Syuntaro Hayashi, Norihisa Takeda, Hideki Muramatsu
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 20-26
• Urban-rural differences in hospital beds and employee income: a study using the rurality index for healthcare research in Japan
  Hideki Murasawa, Tomoaki Ogata, Hiroto Ito
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 27-34
• Variation in the quantity and variety of vegetable intake by supply sources and production areas in rural Japan
  Haruka Kato, Osamu Kushida, Daisuke Machida
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 35-42
• Telemedicine use in medical facilities for rural medical care and local governments in Japan
  Daisuke Matsubara, Hiroyuki Teraura, Yukiko Honda, Seitaro Iguchi, Takahiro Maeda, Kazuhiko Kotani
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 43–48
• Linking factors affecting older adults' ability to live at home to increased workload perceptions among staff at general community support centers
  Hisao Nakai, Kuniko Ishii
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 49-57
• Provision of palliative care for patients with advanced dementia across various long-term care settings in Japan: a facility-based survey
  Yoshihisa Hirakawa, Ayane Komatsu, Tami Saito, Takashi Yamanaka, Jiro Okochi, Masafumi Kuzuya, Hisayuki Miura
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 58–66
• A qualitative study on the phased nature of the self-acceptance process for working women experiencing menopause
  Shinako Yoshitake, Takashi Nakamura, Yoshihisa Hirakawa
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 67–77

Field Reports

• Relationship between health-related quality of life assessed using the Japanese version of the Short Form-8 and all-cause mortality in the O City Cohort II survey: a 13-year follow-up of residents in rural Japan
  Mako Toda, Koutatsu Maruyama, Isao Saito, Shinji Tanaka, Yutaka Takeuchi, Hirotada Okubo, Tadahiro Kato
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 78–85
• Association among farming activities, muscle strength, and body composition in middle-aged and older adults
  Akiko Akiyama, Shota Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Kagami, Yumi Fukuyama
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 86–89

Case Reports

• Pediatric Salmonella Poona gastroenteritis with bacteremia linked to exposure to a pet turtle: a case report
  Kodai Tayama, Hideki Hara, Shigeyuki Notake, Norihiko Terada, Miho Takahashi-Igari, Hironori Imai, Shigemi Hitomi
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 90–95
• Uncommon cause of hematochezia in older adults: a solitary juvenile polyp in the transverse colon
  Koji Takahashi, Masataka Nakano, Nana Yamada, Terunao Iwanaga, Takafumi Sakuma, Junichi Senoo, Hidehiro Kamezaki
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 96–99

Letters to the editor

• Namie Dumbbell Exercise and health examinations: community solutions and administrative challenges for dispersed residents
  Naomi Ito, Toshiki Abe, Nobuaki Moriyama, Yurie Kobashi, Hiroaki Saito, Masaharu Tsubokura
  J Rural Med. 2026 Jan; 21(1): 100–102