Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide insights into how mothers who are also health professionals respond to infant children with regard to giving them their favorite sugar-sweetened beverages, and the basis of their decision-making.

Method: The participants in the study comprised health professionals who work as public nurses for municipalities and have children of elementary school age or younger. Participants were divided into three groups in which focus group discussions were facilitated to learn about their thinking regarding giving children sugar-sweetened beverages; the data were analyzed using the Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT) method.

Results: The circumstances included varied factors such as location, who was present, and the child’s current condition. Mothers approached drink preferences with three different options: “strict restriction,” “providing childcare needs,” and “acceptance in consideration of relatives.” Their responses to providing a favorite beverage followed a “triple standard response” that changed according to the situation while taking into account these three options.

Discussion: These results show the actual situation of mothers who wish their children to have as few sugar-sweetened beverages as possible during infancy when selecting the response appropriate to their situation. In the future, it is necessary to identify effective support methods to inhibit habituation to sugar-sweetened beverages by infants.

Purpose: This study aimed at clarifying process and effect factors of professional identity formation in municipal public health nurses using the trajectory equifinality modeling (TEM).

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted twice with 19 public health nurses in Prefecture A for qualitative and descriptive analysis using TEM method.

Results: A comparative investigation of vocational paths focusing on “motivation to become a public health nurse,” “encounter with a role model,” and “expansion of the regional activities from individuals to groups and communities,” resulted in four types of classification: Type I, individuals actively deciding on public nursing and positively expanding activities; Type II, individuals actively deciding on public nursing and performing required work; Type III, individuals passively deciding on public nursing but actively expanding activities; and Type IV, individuals passively deciding on public nursing and performing routine work. Types I and III encountered role models and expanded activities from individuals to groups and communities, which facilitated recognition of professional identity. Type II recognized professional identity through the performance of roles to establish a new system. Type IV struggled to handle routine work without sufficient experience in regional activities, which decreased confidence in professional identity.

Discussion: The classification in this study showed that experience in expanding activities from individuals to groups and communities strengthened recognition of professional identity, and role models influenced expansion of regional nursing activities. This study clarified the characteristic of professional identity formation processes; namely, public health nurses develop awareness of nursing and administrative roles while establishing relationships with clerical staff.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects on health and social capital among community-dwelling older adults who participated in a one-year community-based intergeneration program.

Method: An intergeneration gardening program was conducted among community-dwelling volunteers, aged 65 years and older, in A city, from February 2015 to March 2018. The program was developed as action research to solve community problems such as limited intergeneration relationship and frailty among older adults by community organizations, local governments and a university. Baseline data were collected on sociodemographic factors, health status including hand grip strength, and social capital. Follow-up data were collected one year later and compared with a similar age control group that did not participate in the program. Qualitative data were collected by focus group discussion and analyzed.

Results: The mean age of the intervention group（n＝36）was 72.6 ±5.6 years and the mean age of the control group（n＝36）was 74.7 ± 4.6 years, with 23 males in each group. Significant interaction effects over time were found between the two groups with the intervention group displaying significantly maintain levels of community commitment（p＜0.05）and tendency to increase hand grip strength（p＜0.1），compared with the control group. Qualitative analysis revealed categories: “pleasure of getting involved with children,” “tradition and nurture,” “reflection and evaluation of life,” and “extension of relationships between neighbors in the community.”

Conclusion: Study findings suggest that a community-based intergeneration gardening program is an effective intervention to help maintain health status and social capital among community-dwelling older adults.

We evaluated the support practices provided by public health nurses (PHNs) for pregnant teenagers with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Fifty PHNs were surveyed between August and September 2016. The survey was designed to obtain maternal characteristics and support needs from conception to 4 months postpartum. Data were analyzed using a chi-square test and a Fisher's exact test. The significance level was set to 0.05 for all analyses. Forty-seven PHN surveys were completed (response rate 94%) and 110 pregnant teenage mothers were analyzed. Forty-five (40.9%) mothers had one or more ACEs. The ACE mothers were more likely to discontinue high school, have special needs, be < 18 years old, feel anxiety about pregnancy and motherhood, and have unplanned pregnancies. PHNs had a significantly higher contact rate with ACE mothers compared with non-ACE mothers. Contact included personal interviews and visits in early pregnancy; telephone calls, personal interviews and visits during the third trimester; and hospital visits during delivery. There was more contact from ACE mothers before the 4-month postnatal checkup. ACEs impacted schooling during pregnancy and after birth. Thus, it is important to determine the ACE status of teenage mothers and to provide specialized support throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Our results imply that PHNs play an important role in connecting mothers to activities that emphasize maternal and child health.

This study explored the process of assistance provided by community comprehensive support center nurses to husband caregivers of wives with dementia through connecting them with community-based horizontal organizations for the purpose of abuse prevention and health maintenance.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven community comprehensive support center nurses regarding their experiences of integrating elderly husbands caring for their wives with dementia with horizontal organizations. Data were analyzed using the Trajectory Equifinality Modeling method.

The support that community comprehensive support center nurses offer husband caregivers consists of four phases: First, the nurses try to build trust with husband caregivers who have negative perception regarding the use of the service. In the second phase, the nurses intensify the relationship of trust through preparation of the care environment and direct the husband caregivers’ attention to health issues. In the third phase, the nurses support husband caregivers to take the initial steps toward participation in horizontal organizations and feel their benefits of participation. In the fourth and final phase, the nurses adjust the care environment so that husband caregivers can continue to participate in community-based horizontal organizations.

To connect husband caregivers to horizontal organizations, it was shown that the awareness of husband caregivers must be amended in stages and that appropriate support must be provided at each phase according to the wife’s situation. Moreover, the findings suggest that it is vital to foster and to publicize varied types of horizontal support organizations to suit the interests of men who perform the role of caregivers.