The purpose of this study was to clarify the current status of individual support for public health nurses who participated in a reflection-based program to improve individual support ability for novices. The study also examined the need for follow-up for individual support, including the need for fulfilling the role as preceptors.

　There were six study participants. Individual interviews were conducted to explore the reasons for self-evaluation using a reflective individual support ability evaluation index and the impact of participating in the program was evaluated. Data were qualitatively and inductively analyzed.

　 All participants could perform some evaluation indices, such as “expression and objective view of feelings and thoughts that arise in support.” Some evaluation indices, such as “description and explanation about the situation and support of the object person,” were performed by all participants, but some found doing these by themselves difficult. Some evaluation indices such as “recognition of the influence of one's emotions and beliefs” could not be accomplished by some participants.

　The results of the study indicate that it is necessary to provide daily on-the-job training for description and evaluation of reflection skills, and that off- the-job training is necessary for critical analysis.

　This study aimed to clarify the current state of health care activities for children who are identified by nursery school nurses as children with special care needs. Interviews were conducted with seven nursery school nurses. Analysis revealed two categories, “protecting safety” and “taking care of mental and physical health,” as health care activities carried out for children identified by nursery school nurses as having special care needs. A further two categories were identified: “sharing ideas with nursery teachers and supporting child care activities” as a means of supporting the health care activities of nursery teachers, and “giving advice to parents” as a health care activity targeted to parents. One example of health care activities carried out by nursery school nurses for children with special care needs was activities to keep children safe. However, only one of the nursery school nurses interviewed mentioned health care activities for nursery teachers, which suggests that cooperation with childcare workers is currently inadequate.

　Objective: This study aims to investigate the competencies required of nurses working on community-based comprehensive care wards (hereinafter “care wards”) by clarifying the details of specific practices recognized by these nurses, the hardships and difficulties involved in nursing practice on care wards, and the competencies perceived as necessary by care ward nurses.

　Methods: Data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with nurses working on care wards. Content pertaining to the details of specific practices on care wards, hardships and difficulties, and the necessary competencies were extracted from the collected data and subject to qualitative inductive analysis.

　Results: Six nurses participated in the study. For the details of specific practices, 58 codes were extracted and summarized in eight categories. For hardships and difficulties, 48 codes were extracted and summarized in 10 categories. For the necessary competencies, 44 codes were extracted and summarized in four categories.

　Discussion: Seven competencies were identified that together formed three dimensions:“ability to support patients and families,” “ability to cooperate and coordinate,”and “management’s ability to maintain and develop the community-based comprehensive care system.

　The study aimed to evaluate the learning effect of a home nursing simulation system that utilizes an e-learning system in blended learning; thus, we examined how this system affected nursing students’ reports. The learning goal of this simulation system is to help students visualize the life of a home care patient and understand the importance of assessment in home care nursing.

　We qualitatively analyzed five themes in three reports from 19 students. Subsequently, we compared it with the system’s learning objective.

　Thus, “life” appeared frequently in all reporting and learning stages. The following were the main categories of descriptions in each report: “Do not miss changes in the home care patient’s lives and respond early,” “Understand lifestyles and values that appear in their lives,” “They live their own lives,” and “Grasp the condition of home care patients in invisible time.” The time series indicated three learning patterns in learning contents.

　Moreover, by using the system during the initial learning stage, the students imagined “observing” and “assessing” the patient’s “life.” Additionally, as the learning process progresses, the students may develop it in a complex and specific way.

Purpose: To clarify the efforts that enable elderly nursing staff with health problems who can achieve a good balance between recuperation and work to continue working in long-term care insurance facilities. Methods: A semi-structured interview method was used to survey nursing staff aged 65 and above with some health problems, who are able to balance recuperation and work in long-term care insurance facilities in the Kanto region. The survey was conducted on four nursing staff with their consent. Results: For “the efforts that enable elderly nursing staff who are aware of their own health problems to continue working”, eight categories, 23 subcategories, and 103 codes were obtained including [choosing a working environment suitable for their energy and physical strength], [adjusting work to take advantage of their strength and weakness], and [maintaining work results that are empirically satisfactory]. Conclusion: Elderly nursing staff with health problems in long-term care insurance facilities set a goal of optimizing resources and achieving satisfactory work results by objectively assessing their physical and mental conditions, strengths, and weaknesses, and selecting a working environment that would maximize their performance.

　Due to the risk of spreading COVID-19, the 2020 adult nursing comprehensive practicum was conducted as a simulated practice on campus. This paper presents the contents of this practical training. Furthermore, this paper reports how nurses applied the contents of this training to clinical practice after entering the workforce and the impact of using the on-campus alternative training. Data were collected from graduates who took the course and were surveyed by questionnaire and interview.

　The results of the questionnaire revealed the following about this simulated practice: 1) the exercises of “temperature taking and reporting of multiple patients” and “multitasking” are realistic and can be used even after employment; 2) the exercise that includes Gibbs’ reflective cycle brought about autonomous learning; and 3) the use of simulated patients and nurses made learning difficult, and communication problems occurred. The results of this study suggest that students can learn from their experiences even when they do not directly participate in actual clinical practice, and provide suggestions for the development of future practice programs.

　This study aims to identify the effects of introducing a Learning Management System (LMS) on learning activities and seek suggestions to improve its effectiveness. A web-based survey was conducted on students enrolled in classes utilizing an LMS to determine the effects on their learning activities and content analysis was used to analyze. The following categories represent the effects of introducing an LMS on learning activities: 1. Improvement of learning effects using related videos and reference books; 2. Learning activities that is not dependent on time and place; 3. Reduction of psychological burden to start learning and improv learning efficiency using devices; 4. Improvement of learning effects and efficiency by clarifying the scope of learning; 5. Habituation of self evaluation; 6. Improvement of learning motivation through extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; 7. Facilitat ion of learning planning; 8. Earlier question resolution; and 9. Maintenance of an orderly learning environment. It was suggested that the introduction of an LMS facilitates learners active learning activities by creating a supportive environment.

　In this study, we identified the difficulties that university graduates new to the nursing profession faced in the workplace in 2020 in light of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Nine graduates responded to a questionnaire, and three of them were interviewed to provide specific details on items that they indicated as difficulties in the questionnaire.

　The results of a simple tabulation of the questionnaire revealed that of the 104 items, “providing clear explanations to patients and families and obtaining their consent,” “considering how to prioritize nursing care for multiple patients,” and “coordinating assigned tasks so that they can be carried out within a given time frame” were items most of the respondents (seven out of nine) found difficult. The following most commonly identified difficulties selected by six of the nine respondents included: “understanding the needs of patients from physical, psychological, and social perspectives” and “understanding the purpose of nursing records and accurately preparing nursing records.” The contents of the interview summaries included the [inability to explain the patient’s condition to family members who cannot visit the patient due to the COVID-19 pandemic] and other challenges related to visitation restrictions due to the pandemic.

　The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may have made communication with patients and their families more difficult. On the other hand, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, the respondents tended to experience difficulties in managing nursing care for multiple patients and in performing their duties within a certain time frame. We believe that it is important when producing educational content to take into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the “Integration Practicum,” a course that aims to improve comprehensive nursing practice skills, including providing care for multiple patients, should be enhanced.

　[Purpose] To understand what graduates need and want recurrent education, to investigate the associated efforts of national and public universities in life sciences, and to make resulting recommendations to the alumni association to enhance recurrent education.

[Research method] We conducted a questionnaire survey of graduates using a web-based questionnaire. In addition, the status of recurrent education national and public universities of life sciences was checked via the questionnaire.

[Results and discussion] The collection rate of the questionnaire was 31%; 66% of the respondents were interested in recurrent education, particularly in the medical and food fields. The 10 universities that promote recurrent education, have well-developed organizations, including specialist centers. Therefore, we believe that it will be possible to design a suitable system to cater to working adults’learning and recurrent education needs.

[Conclusion] By providing the latest medical and nutritional information at the department, it is expected that the knowledge and skills of registered dieticians will improve, thus contributing to the health promotion and wellbeing of the citizens of Chiba Prefecture.

Objective

　To investigate postpartum mothers’ experiences of receiving care using a pelvic belt as support for alleviating back pain within one month after childbirth.

Methods

　Semi-structured interviews were conducted from January to March 2020 with 11 postpartum mothers. The obtained data were analyzed using a qualitative inductive method. The effects of the care were extracted from the data and classified.

Results

　Results The responses to using belts and other support devices to alleviate back pain were categorized as follows: "reduces pain," "my back hurts when I take it off," "my back is fixed and stable," "there is less of a burden on my back," "it is easy to move," and "I feel secure”. The category "I don't know if it is effective" was also identified.

Consideration

　We believe that the use of belts and other devices can help reduce the burden on the back and alleviate pain. It is also assumed that mothers experiencing pain can continue to use the belts to feel secure and to prevent their back pain from worsening.