Objective: To describe the culture and true state of affairs of how public health nurses (PHNs) perceive preparation for the nuclear disaster.

Method: Interviews were analyzed along with field exploration, participant observation according to the ethnographical methodology.

Results: Nine PHNs were selected as key informants out of 25 participants near nuclear power plants. The extracted theme of PHNs’ preparations for nuclear disaster was “being concerned with the responsibility of PHNs in the nuclear zone to anticipate emergency situations.” The main theme consisted of two domains: “adhering to roles as officers in a small municipality in the nuclear zone” and “bearing in mind the awareness to protect lives and living of residents as a nursing professional”. PHNs have become increasingly aware of the risk after the accident in Fukushima, and of the necessity of preparing and protecting the lives of residents while feeling uneasiness.

Discussion: PHNs have felt the responsibility of preparing health activities while suppressing their feelings and awareness due to the organizational climate and their own views on the nuclear power plant, which had financed the lives of the residents and the municipality’s administration. Because of the municipal characteristics, it is difficult for PHNs to take the initiative in conducting health activities and preparing for disaster. The implications from this research include building partnerships among PHNs in nuclear zones and demonstrating the expertise of PHNs within municipality offices by providing wider support at regional and national level.

Objective: To clarify realization experiences of professional development by newly appointed public health nurses with no previous local government work in outsource-type district comprehensive support centers.

Method: Nine public health nurses working for six outsource-type district comprehensive support centers in prefecture A with at least 1 year and <6 years of practical experience and no previous local government work were included. In this qualitative descriptive research, data were collected via semi-structured interviews. Contents related to realization experiences of professional development were extracted from interview data and categorized based on similarity; a group with the highest-level categories was referred to as an aspect.

Results: Realization experiences of professional development were represented by the following four aspects: [approach toward a community to build a relationship of trust with residents], [realization of health education tailored to small group characteristics], [alliance network formation through responses to individual cases], and [considering group development as an opportunity for community-oriented improvement]. The aspect of [considering group development as an opportunity for community-oriented improvement] comprised <trial and error within the comprehensive support center for group establishment>, <challenges to group establishment based on models>, and <consciousness of public health nurses’ role via group development>.

Discussion: Newly appointed public health nurses of outsource-type district comprehensive support centers improved their cooperative skills via accumulation of individual cases. They presumably acquired a broader perspective to cover the entire community and realized professional development as public health nurses for group development based on a community development model available outside the support center.

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the number of older people living alone that local volunteers monitor and satisfaction or burden regarding monitoring and monitoring-related activities.

Method: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted with 1,812 (100%) local volunteers monitoring older people living alone. The survey items consisted of basic characteristics, number of older people living alone that they monitor in a month, monitoring activities, monitoring-related activities, scale of social activities, and scales of satisfaction and burden regarding monitoring activities. The number of older people living alone that they monitor in a month was classified into three groups: zero, one to five people, and six or more people. χ² test was performed for items of basic characteristics and monitoring-related activities, and one-way covariance analysis and multiple comparison tests were conducted to examine satisfaction with or burden of monitoring activities according to each group.

Result: The number of responses analyzed was 749 (41.3%). The percentage of those who performed monitoring-related activities and scores on scales of social activities and satisfaction were highest in the group of six or more people (p<.001). The burden score was lowest in the group of one to five people compared with the other groups (p<.001).

Conclusion: The results suggest that the large number of older people living alone that local volunteers monitor was related to a high degree of satisfaction and monitoring-related activities, and that local volunteers monitoring one to five people might be most appropriate.

Purpose: The causal structure in which each of the mothers’ and fathers’ attachment formation affects sense of coherence (SOC) and suicide risk was clarified.

Method: A self-completed questionnaire survey of 2,000 men and women 20 ~ 39 years of age living in a provincial city was conducted. The causal structure was analyzed using covariance structure analysis for ECR-RS of caregivers in SOC, K6, each of the mothers and the fathers, and the respective models and feelings of poor mental health.

Results: The causal model with K6, the ECR-RS of the mothers, feelings of poor mental health, and SOC as latent variables were as follows: GFI = 0.922, AGFI = 0.885, CFI = 0.943, RMSEA = 0.072. When the ECR-RS of fathers was applied, GFI0.928, AGFI0.893, CFI 0.944, RMSEA0.070, the coefficient of determination (R²) for both models was 0.75. In both cases, feelings of poor mental health as latent variables were followed by the structure that defines K6 via SOC and feelings of poor mental health, with ECR-RS as the foundation.

Discussion: Feelings of poor mental health were associated with suicide risk. Attachment formation from mothers and fathers was newly suggested to be one of the factors in “many unconscious motives” of suicide. Therefore, for the measures of suicide prevention in adulthood, community health care in collaboration with industrial health care for poor mental feeling, as well as support measures, are required to deepen the formation of attachments from mothers and fathers, especially around the age of 6 months to 5 years.