2025 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 1-10
Objective
This study was designed to review earlier domestically and internationally conducted research examining mental health nursing for non-Japanese residents, and to clarify the current state and challenges of psychiatric nursing care for non-Japanese residents.
Methods
For the literature review performed in January 2025, search keywords were “non-Japanese residents,” “foreigners,” “psychiatric nursing,” and “mental health nursing.” The search period of 2006–2024 was set to include articles written in Japanese or English from four databases: Ichushi Web, CiNii, PubMed, and CINAHL. The inclusion criteria were original research articles in Japanese or English specifically examining mental health nursing for non-Japanese residents. After removing duplicates, the titles and abstracts were screened, with subsequent reviews of full texts to select relevant articles. Based on their thematic similarities, findings of the selected studies were coded and grouped into subcategories and categories.
Results
Among the 12 domestic studies identified, case studies were the most common, accounting for 6 articles. Only one study specifically examined community-based nursing support. The current state of psychiatric nursing care for non-Japanese residents was categorized into six themes: “Utilization of verbal communication,” “Utilization of non-verbal communication,” “Psychiatric nursing care provided fairly to non-Japanese residents,” “Culturally and religiously sensitive care,” “Collaboration with families and multidisciplinary teams,” and “Psychiatric nursing care provided by visiting nurses.” Challenges of psychiatric nursing care for non-Japanese residents were categorized into five themes: “Difficulties in building therapeutic relationships because of communication gaps,” “Lack of resources to overcome language barriers,” “Challenges in assessing psychiatric symptoms because of communication gaps,” “Anxiety and difficulty in family support among family members and community stakeholders,” and “Difficulties in explanation and understanding attributable to differences in legal systems.”
Conclusion
For non-Japanese residents to receive psychiatric nursing care fairly, findings from this study suggest needs for development of medical interpreting systems in psychiatric settings, for educational interventions to enhance cultural competence among psychiatric nurses, for further research elucidating the actual condition survey of foreign service-users by psychiatric home-visit nurses, and for creation of evidence-based guidelines.
