2016 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 104-114
Aim: To describe the adjustment difficulties experienced by home visiting nurses after recently chang-ing to a home care setting and to examine factors related to these difficulties.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 165 home visiting nurses who had work experi-ence of more than six months and less than three years in a home care agency in Tokyo. The participant nurses completed self-report questionnaires about the difficulties experienced after recently changing their workplace to a home care setting. The factors related to the adjustment difficulties were examined using exploratory factor analysis and regression analysis.
Results: The most frequent difficulties that the nurses experienced were related to a lack of information about medical insurance (86.7%) and long-term care insurance (85.5%). The regression analysis showed that a lower level of nursing practice ability led to a higher level of difficulties in adapting to the different work environment ( β = –0.205, p< 0.01) and in acquiring the specialized techniques and knowledge needed for home care ( β = –0.250, p< 0.001).
Discussion: Difficulties possibly experienced in the transitional phase are related to individual nursing practice ability. Hence, it is necessary to educate nurses individually during the transitional phase.
Conclusion: In order to improve adjustment to a home care setting, it is necessary to educate novice home visiting nurses about home care-related information and techniques in accordance with their indi-vidual nursing practice ability.
