【Purpose】 This study examined the relationship between experience of child-rearing and parenting efficacy, availability of parenting support with questionnaire method. 【Method】 Participants were 65 parents of preschoolers in child care center (the response rate was 87%). Five measures of characteristics (parental efficacy, perceived parenting support, contents of social support, type of needed expertise on parenting, and sources of support) were assessed. The data for 19 parents who did not complete questionnaire was not analyzed. 【Result】 Our data indicated that mothers with a high sense of parental efficacy and high perceived parenting support attached particular importance on expertise by nursery teachers and required supports by various people both like friend and neighbors. For mothers, both their family members, and elementary schoolteachers are important as sources of parental support, regardless of level of social support and parental efficacy. 【Conclusion】 The results indicated the relationship between characteristics of mothers and needed parental support.

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Purpose: This study is to clarify home-visit nursing service coordination factors associated with family caregivers' satisfaction and their intention to continue the care for the elderly patients at the initial stage of end-of-life care. Methods: Subjects are family caregivers for terminally ill elderlies (31 cancer patients; 23 non-cancer patients). An anonymous self-administered questionnaire with yes/no questions was used to collect data regarding service satisfaction, intention to continue with care, and service coordination. Relationship between satisfaction and service coordination was analyzed with t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Relationship between intention to continue with care and service coordination was also analyzed with Fisher's exact test. Results: Home-visit nursing service coordination factors with significant relationship with satisfaction were "arranging respite care" for caregivers of cancer patients, and "doctor's consultation in case of lack of information" for those of non-cancer patients. The factors significantly associated with intention to continue with care were "arranging a doctor's consultation about patient's hospitalization" for cancer cases, and "thorough explanation about the service contract", "instruction on necessary caregiving skills", "instruction on emergency procedures" and "doctor's consultation in case of lack of information" for non-cancer cases. Conclusions: In order for caregiving family's satisfaction at the first stage of home care, it is suggested that providing service coordination of respite care as needed for cancer cases, and providing an opportunity for the caregiver to obtain sufficient information from doctor for non-cancer cases are important. Furthermore, in order for caregivers to continue care for the terminally ill patients at home, it is suggested important to coordinate services for cancer cases to be able to consult about emergency hospitalization as needed, and for non-cancer cases to be able to obtain information on contract, care methods, emergency procedure in addition to consultation with doctors.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the validity and reliability of the Scale of Fundamental Competencies for Working Persons in new graduate nurses. Method: New graduate nurses working in 12general hospitals in the Kanto area, Japan were surveyed using the Scale of Fundamental Competencies for Working Persons(Kitajima's version). An exploratory factor analysis and a correlation analysis with the KiSS-18 (Kikuchi's Scale of Social Skills: 18 items) were conducted to examine the validity of the scale. The reliability of the scale was evaluated using the Cronbach's α coefficient, split-half method, and test-retest method. Results: Cronbach's α coefficient for the full scale (36 items) was 0.94.The correlation coefficients using the split-half and test-retest methods were 0.82 (p < 0.01) and 0.70 (p < 0.01) respectively. In the factor analysis (principal factor method, varimax rotation), the number of factors was fixed at 3 based on the scree-plot mapping of the decay of the eigenvalues and the number of subordinate concepts of the fundamental competencies for working persons. These 3 factors consisted of items similar to those of factors in the original scale. Factor 1 was named "thinking"; Factor 2, "teamwork"; and Factor 3, "action" (together the three factors explained 48.6% of the variance in scale scores). Cronbach's a for Factors 1, 2, and 3 was 0.90, 0.90, and 0.85, respectively. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient with the KiSS-18 scale was 0.58 (p < 0.01), which demonstrated the scale's high validity. Conclusion: The results identified the 3 factors similar to the original version in new graduate nurses and suggested the validity and reliability as the Scale of Fundamental Competencies for Working Persons.

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Objective: The present study aimed to examine whether or not the physical fitness self-evaluation scale (PSE) can be used to predict long-term fall-related risks in the elderly, as well as the reliability and validity of the scale. Methods: In 1996 and 2011, cohort surveys were conducted involving (1,095) elderly people aged 60 years or older living in Village T, adjacent to a large city in the Chubu region of Japan. Data on 288 people who participated in both the 1996 and 2011 surveys were analyzed. Survey items included PSE, fall-related items, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG-IC), Index of Social Interaction (ISI), and exercise habits. The internal consistency of the scale was also examined by calculating Cronbach's coefficient alpha to assess its reliability. Partial rank correlation analysis was then conducted to examine the criterion-related validity. Results: The reliability of the scale was high: Cronbach's coefficient alpha was 0.90. For males, partial correlation functions with the PSE at baselines were 0.227 for the fall rate (p<.05), 0.375 for the TMIG-IC (p<.01), 0.329 for the ISI (p<.01), and 0.339 for the exercise habits (p<.01). Secondly, for females, significant but weak partial correlations were noted between the PSE in 1996 and fall-related items of the 2011 scale. Regarding the measurement of physical fitness in 2011, there were significant partial correlations between the present scale and PSE for maximum stride (males: 0.314, p<.05) and 5-m walking (females: -0.304, p<.01). Conclusion: The PSE did not show adequate effectiveness from the viewpoint of the validity of the scale to predict fall-related risks. However, the survey results suggest that PSE may serve as a useful scale to evaluate long-term support and intervention programs for fall prevention and their directions.

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