Published papers

Aim: To examine whether interprofessional coordination is related to goal attainment in home visit nursing care. Methods: Self-administered questionnaire surveys were administered to home visit nursing agencies in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, from July to December 2014. Nurses evaluated their interprofessional coordination with professional groups (nursing colleague and managers, home doctors, care managers, home care workers, visiting therapists, day service and day care professionals, visiting bath professionals, and short stay professionals) using the Japanese version of the Relational Coordination Scale (RCS-J). Goal attainment across all clients during the most recent 3 months was measured with a rating scale ranging from incompletely attained (0) to completely attained (10). Data were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 83 nurses in 14 agencies responded, and data from 74 nurses were analyzed. The mean RCS-J and goal attainment scores were 3.59 (standard deviation = 0.47) and 6.51 (1.40), respectively. The RCS-J scores of the low and high goal attainment groups were 3.41 (0.46) and 3.73 (0.42), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that RCS-J scores were positively associated with goal attainment (odds ratio, 5.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.65–19.79). Conclusion: The finding of this study suggest that well-coordinated professionals may fulfill client needs better than poorly coordinated professionals do. Future research is needed to determine whether similar results are obtained in individual clients using a well-validated goal attainment scale.

Aim: Preference for aging in place among middle-aged people is an important element in estimating the future needs for community services of disabled older adults. Drawing on Litwak and Longino's typologies of relocation, the present study investigated the characteristics of middle-aged adults who prefer to age in place and those who prefer to move, at two levels of disability: being unable to walk alone and being bedridden. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was sent to 2500 community-dwelling adults aged 40-64years. Results: If unable to walk outside alone, 43.0% of respondents would prefer to move from their own homes. If bedridden, 29.5% preferred to move. After age and sex had been adjusted for, house size, length of time living at that house, the number of people living together, and attachment to home and neighborhood were independently related to moving preferences if unable to walk outside alone. Accessibility of hospitals and supermarkets, community participation, and use of the Internet were related to moving preferences if bedridden. Conclusions: Sex, current living arrangement and geographic properties are correlated with changes in community-dwelling adults' preferences for residential relocation as physical function declines. It is necessary for municipal policymakers to understand these correlations in order to plan and develop effective community care systems. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 631-637.

Aim: Home-visiting nursing agencies are required to foster staff nurse's work engagement; thus, the factors related to work engagement require identification. This study examined relational coordination among colleagues and agency span of control on the work engagement of home-visiting nurses. Methods: Cross-sectional data from 93 staff nurses in 31 home-visiting nursing agencies were collected via a survey and analyzed using mixed linear regression. Results: There was no significant main effect of relational coordination among nurse colleagues on work engagement. In large agencies with a large span of control, relational coordination among nursing colleagues predicted work engagement. Nursing managers' relational coordination was found to be positively associated with staff nurse work engagement. Conclusion: Agency span of control is a moderating factor on the positive effect of relational coordination with nursing colleagues on staff nurse work engagement.

Understanding causes of disability among elderly individuals is an important public health issue, particularly because of the increasing rate of disabled elderly individuals and the social costs in a rapidly aging society. Accordingly, we aimed to describe the diseases that precede disability and investigate the types of diseases that are related to severe disability among Japanese elderly individuals aged over 75 years. Using claim data from the latterstage elderly healthcare system and long-term care insurance system, we identified 76,265 elderly individuals over 75 years old who did not qualify as disabled on April 1, 2011. Among them, 3,715 elderly individuals who had been newly qualified as disabled between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012 were selected. Disease codes from the medical claim data in the 6 months prior to disability were collected. All descriptions were developed separately for six groups divided by gender and disability level (low, middle, and high). The results of the ordinal logistic analysis including sex and age revealed that men tended to have significantly higher levels of disability (β = 0.417, p < 0.001) than women. Cerebrovascular disorder (CVD) was the most common disease in almost all age and disability level groups. In low-level disability groups, cancer in men (12.8%) and arthropathy and fracture in women (11.9% and 13.5%, respectively) were as common as cerebrovascular disorder (12.2% and 9.7%, in men and women, respectively). Stroke was the most common disease for all genders and disability levels. The diseases preceding low-level disability differed by gender. This study demonstrated the need to consider arthropathy and fracture as well as CVD in order to prevent disability.

Background: Accurate, standardized information on childhood immunization is not available in Japan. We investigated current practices in perinatal childhood immunization education in the community and the needs and interest for such education among Japanese mothers. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study evaluated pregnant and postnatal women at four institutions in Niigata, Japan from May through July 2014. Data were collected using questionnaires inquiring about demographics, immunization education received, intent to receive childhood vaccines, and needs regarding information on childhood immunization. Results: Questionnaires were distributed to 300 women, and 116 (38.6%) were returned; 70 (59.6%) of the respondents were pregnant women and 46 (40.3%) were postnatal women. Fourteen (20%) of the 70 pregnant women reported receiving some form of immunization education; in contrast, 34 (73.9%) of 46 postnatal women had received such education within 1 month of delivery. The rates of respondents who felt that the information was insufficient were high: 78.6% among pregnant women and 52.9% among postnatal women. Pregnant women reported that the most important information was general concepts of immunization; in contrast, postnatal women desired more-detailed information, e.g., on immunization scheduling. Conclusions: Japanese women do not receive sufficient perinatal immunization education. The information needed during the prenatal and postnatal periods differs. Thus, educational approaches may need to provide carefully targeted information.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics and health issues of residents in need of assistance in a town affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, six weeks after the disaster, through an outreach initiative. Design and Sample: A cross-sectional qualitative design was used. Public health nurses conducted comprehensive semi-structured interviews during home visits with residents. A total of 5,082 residents from the affected town. Measures: These included demographic information, public records of the extent of the damages, and qualitative interview data to determine the urgency of the necessary interventions. Results: A total of 281 residents needed some kind of assistance and were identified as "requiring early intervention (within two weeks)" or "requiring assistance (within 12 weeks)." The most common health issue requiring early intervention was "interruption of treatment" (25.0%), followed by "need for mental care." The most frequent health issue requiring assistance within 12 weeks was the "need for mental health care" (39.7%), followed by "interruption of treatment," and "need for nursing care." Conclusions: During a disaster, it is imperative to identify cases requiring early intervention. Home-visit interviews were necessary to identify existing health concerns to prevent the development of more serious health problems.

Aim: This cross-sectional study aims to explore the relationship between different types and sources of social support and psychological distress by age and sex among survivors living in temporary housing 10 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods: Self-reported questionnaires/structured interviews administered from January to March 2012 recorded demographic characteristics, damage involving participants' families, social support, and psychological distress. Results: Data on 296 participants aged 20 years or more from nine temporary housing complexes in Otsuchi were analyzed; K6 scores indicating psychological distress averaged 5.1 (standard deviation, 5.9; range, 0-24). Multiple logistic regression analyses indicated differences among types and sources of social support with regard to psychological distress by age and sex among disaster survivors. For men aged less than 65 years, social support by family was related to lower psychological distress. For women aged 65 years or more, emotional support from family, informational and instrumental support, and social companionship from friends in their own temporary housing complexes were related to less psychological distress. Conclusion: Differences in age and sex were related to different sources of social support in relation to psychological distress. It is necessary to pay more attention to those who lost family members in the disaster, especially men aged less than 65 years. It may also be necessary to support survivors in making friends when they relocate to temporary housing, especially women aged 65 years or more.

Family violence is a serious concern in the era of deinstitutionalization in Japan. Consequently, we aimed to clarify the rate of family violence among patients with schizophrenia, and differences by sex and relationship to the patient. We asked households belonging to a family group association to complete a self-administered mail survey. Of 350 households that responded, data for 302 were analyzed. The rate of violence toward any family member was 60.9% over the lifetime and 27.2% in the past year. Order of lifetime rates for family members from highest to lowest was 51.0% for mothers, 47.0% for fathers, 30.7% for younger sisters, 23.8% for spouses, 19.5% for younger brothers, 18.2% for older sisters, 17.1% for older brothers, and none for children. Younger sisters were more likely to be victims compared to other siblings. Fathers and older brothers were likely to be victims when patients were male.

A project to encourage the adequate use of visiting nurse services (VNS) after discharge was conducted by “K” City, Japan. Eligible individuals were inpatients of general hospital ready for discharge and assessed as potentially needing VNS, and their out-of-pocket fees for VNS within 1 month following discharge were covered by the city. To clarify this project’s effect, patient/family’s intention to use VNS and the utilization of VNS at each time point were evaluated. Eighty-eight residents used the project. Before initial hospitalization, less than one quarter of users had recognized the necessity of VNS. Many participants (88.6%) continued to use VNS even after the completion of the project period despite having to cover the VNS cost by themselves, indicating that this project had a positive impact on appropriate VNS use.

Aim: This study evaluated the effect of a skill-mix programme intervention on work engagement in home visiting nurses. Background: A skill-mix programme in which home visiting nurses are assisted by non-nursing workers is assumed to foster home visiting nurses' work engagement. Method: Pre- and post-intervention evaluations of work engagement were conducted using self-administered questionnaires. A skill-mix programme was introduced in the intervention group of home visiting nurses. After 6 months, their pre- and post-intervention work engagement ratings were compared with those of a control group. Result: Baseline questionnaires were returned by 174 home visiting nurses (44 in the intervention group, 130 in the control group). Post-intervention questionnaires were returned by 38 and 97 home visiting nurses from each group. The intervention group's average work engagement scores were 2.2 at baseline and 2.3 at post-intervention; the control group's were 3.3 and 2.6. Generalised linear regression showed significant between-group differences in score changes. Conclusion: The skill-mix programme might foster home visiting nurses' work engagement by improving the quality of care for each client. Future research is needed to explain the exact mechanisms that underlie its effectiveness. Implications for nursing management: In order to improve the efficiency of services provided by home visiting nurses and foster their work engagement, skill-mix programmes might be beneficial.

Aim: An earthquake of magnitude 9.0 and accompanying tsunami struck the Tohoku region in northeast Japan on 11 March 2011. The purpose of this study was to observe evacuees' health status such as general health, psychological distress, and feeling of isolation over time. Methods: The authors distributed a questionnaire survey to residents of temporary housing in January to March (time 1) and again in October to December of 2012 (time 2). Results: Two hundred respondents who filled out the questionnaire at both times were the subjects of this study. The self-reported general health in 39% and mental health status in 43.5% of the participants were poor at time 2. In addition, a higher percentage of participants felt a sense of isolation at time 2 even though more of the participants participated in community activities at that time. Conclusion: This result shows the evacuees' prolonged psychological distress and strengthening sense of isolation. It will be necessary to monitor them carefully and provide support continuously over the long term.