Name：Daisuke Nonaka　

• Position：Associate professor
• Degree：博士（保健学）
• Research：Public Health, Global Health, Community Health, Health Communication
• Email：nonakad(@cs.u-ryukyu.ac.jp)

• 【Researcher database】https://kenkyushadb.lab.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/html/100000439_en.html

  【Researchmap】https://researchmap.jp/nonakad?lang=en

We conduct research aimed to prevent diseases and promote health by assessing the impact of social, familial and physical environment on our health and wellbeing and to identify the mechanism of how the psychosocial and physical environments surrounding us affect our health and wellbeing. We are also interested in research focusing on health communication and health behavior using theories including behavioral economics theory.

• Social environment includes, policy, norm, culture, and ways of social services.
• Family environment includes, household wealth, child-parent relationships, behaviors that household members share and house structure.
• Physical environment includes, access to safe water and sanitation, access to healthcare, healthy food and presence of environmental pollution (e.g., noise pollution).

• Fifita SST, Nonaka D, Cama MT, Filise MI. Factors associated with undiagnosed hypertension among Tongan adults: a cross-sectional study. Trop Med Health. 2024 Jan 2;52(1):4. doi: 10.1186/s41182-023-00570-4.
• Kawamoto S, Nonaka D, Inthavong N. Do they really boil their drinking water? a descriptive study in a rural district of the Lao people's democratic republic. Trop Med Health. 2024 Sep 18;52(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s41182-024-00626-z.
• Bouwe T, Nonaka D, Buchy P, Hansana P, Khamlome B, Chayvangmanh V, Ahissou NCA, Chindavongsa K, Pongvongsa T, Banouvong V, Iwagami M. Asymptomatic malaria infections and associated risk factors in malaria-eliminating settings of Nong District, Savannakhet Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic. Trop Med Health. 2025 Feb 19;53(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s41182-025-00702-y.
• Chayvangmanh V, Ahissou NCA, Detleuxay K, Nonaka D. Association between quality performance scorecard scores and health indicators: an ecological study in the Northern provinces of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Trop Med Health. 2025 May 21;53(1):73. doi: 10.1186/s41182-025-00748-y.

Currently, nine graduate students including five international students belong to our laboratory. You will have opportunities to participate in various research projects which are led by students. Students are able to improve their research activities by stimulating each other and sometimes by working together. Students are able to choose their research topics according to their interest. The supervisor, assoc. prof. Nonaka, guides students on research planning, research proposal development, data collection, data analysis, policy recommendation, writing and presentation, through seminars, weekly individual consultation meetings and document reviews. We encourage students to disseminate their research findings to international communities through publication and presentation at academic conferences.