This study investigated whether nursing intervention by talking, or talking and touching, as a method to reduce the physical and mental discomfort of patients undergoing investigations creating physical discomfort, resulted in differences in their experience and feelings.
The study divided 43 patients undergoing gastroscopy into 2 groups, one group of 21 patients receiving talk intervention only, and one group of 22 patients receiving talking and touch intervention, with a survey conducted of the patient's emotional state before and during the investigation, and free reporting of the patient's thoughts.
No difference was found in the emotional state of the talk intervention group before and during investigation, while for the talking and touch group, there was amelioration in their feelings of restlessness (tension and excitement) due to tension and concern, and feeling down (depressed feeling), and an increase in feelings of relaxation (relief) (all p<.05). In response to nurse intervention, both groups reported feelings of “strong encouragement to help me get through the discomfort”, “relief of physical tension”, “peace of mind and relief of mental tension”, and “kindness directed at me”, but the talking and touching group reported feeling “warmth and peace, like a family member was with me”, and “happiness at the nurse's kindness”. The above results show that talking and touching intervention ameliorates patient discomfort more during investigation.

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This study was designed to clarify the feelings of nurses with experiences of physical violence from psychiatric inpatients, and to elucidate the factors that influenced the feelings. The subjects of this study were 14 nurses who had suffered physical violence from psychiatric inpatients within the last 5 years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on these subjects, and qualitative inductive analysis was performed.
The results of the analysis were of nine categories. The first 3 categories relate to the feelings of the victimized nurses and they are as follows: [emotional reaction caused by physical violence], [shaking of confidence in self-image] and [repairing the relationship with patients]. The next 4 categories belong to the factors that influenced these feelings are as follows: [interpretation of physical violence], [professional awareness as a nurse], [difficulty in sharing the experience] and [presence of colleagues who helped]. The final 3 categories concern the experiences of physical violence and as follows: [confusion in dealing with patients] and [lessons learn from the experience of physical violence].
These results of this study suggest the importance of the nurses and superiors having an open understanding of their colleagues who have been the victim of physical violence and establishing an organized system of prevention against such violence.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to obtain a consensus on minimum essentials in physical assessment education concerning respiration, which is provided in basic education of nursing in Japan.
Design: The design of this study was quantitative descriptive study using the Delphi technique, one of consensus methods.
Method: The participants were 86 nurse educators at 60 nursing schools who were in charge of physical assessment or similar subjects. The questionnaire was sent 3 times along with the results of each previous questionnaire for feedback. The questionnaire should be answered under the hypothesis that the total hours of lectures was reduced to 60% of the current time, and the consensus should be equated with 51% agreement amongst respondents.
Result: Respondents selected 32 items. The details of the 32 items are as follows;five (5) [structure and function] items, seven (7) [interview] items, ten (10) [inspection] items, one (1) [palpation] item, one (1) [percussion] item, six (6) [auscultation] items, and two (2) [monitoring data] items.

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Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify nurses' attitudes toward organ donation and related factors.
Method: A questionnaire survey was conducted on 716 nurses (response rate: 85%; valid response rate: 81%) at the six hospitals in X prefecture that perform organ donation following brain death. Nurses' attitudes toward organ donation and related factors were analyzed of statistically.
Results: Nurses' attitudes were divided into unease and belief categories, and related factors were analyzed. These categories were found to be independently affected by related factors. The “Acceptance of brain death” and “Knowledge about organ donation” factors had significant relationships with the unease and belief categories, and nurses with positive attitudes toward organ donation were found to have higher scores for knowledge about organ donation and had acceptance of brain death. “Confidence in family correspondence” and “The years of clinical experience” had a significant relationship with only the belief category, and nurses with positive attitudes were found to have higher confidence in family correspondence and more than 11 years of clinical experience.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that “Acceptance of brain death,” “Knowledge about organ donation,” “Confidence in family correspondence,” and “The years of clinical experience” contributed to positive attitudes toward organ donation.

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This research aims to develop a coping scale for patients with intractable neurological diseases and to examine the reliability and effectiveness of that scale. In this study, “coping” is defined as deliberate efforts to change one's cognition or behavior toward improving one's situation or solving one's problems. Based on interviews, a questionnaire of 25 items with 5 choices of answers for each question was drafted, and valid responses were received from 243 patients with intractable neurological diseases. Statistically inappropriate items were eliminated, and factor analysis was conducted. Consequently, 15 items comprising 4 factors were selected: “sorting out of feelings,” “maintenance of independence,” “maintenance of interpersonal relations” and “self-disclosure.” Reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's α coefficient (0.86) and Spearman-Brown's coefficient of reliability (0.81). The results were compared to those obtained using Ozeki's coping scale and Kawaminami's scale for subjective QOL common to patients with intractable diseases. The new scale was found to be reliable, effectiveness, and practicable.

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This study conducted a secondary analysis to clarify factors related to the implementation of transfer of terminal cancer inpatients to a home care setting within the patient/family related factors and nurse/multidisciplinary team related factors. The subjects were 155 potential inpatients of transfer to a home care setting among the recruited 464 cancer inpatients in 53 hospitals, 82 units. We conducted a questionnaire survey by mail of hospital unit nurses responsible for the care of terminal cancer patients and assessed factors related to implementation of transfer of terminal cancer inpatients to a home care setting by logistic regression analysis. The results revealed a total of 6 items as related factors: Patient condition being absence of intravenous therapy, absence of oxygen therapy, having no need to support of eating, having desire by the family for home care, nurses responsible informing guarantee for 24 hour support system of the hospital to patients, and nurses responsible having a relationship with home care nurses. In the future it is hoped that an environment will be created in which greater importance is attached to each of the factors identified in this study.

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The purpose of this paper is to investigate what emotions most influence nurses in their nursing practices for terminally ill patients and their families.
A questionnaire asking nurses to describe themselves was administered to nurses who regularly cared for terminally ill patients and their families. Five hypothetical situations in the form of vignettes were constructed for the survey. All vignettes were designed such that nurses would need emotional management skills in caring for terminally ill patients and their families. Nurses were asked nine emotional questions and 13 nursing practice questions after they read each vignette. Each of the nurses read all five vignettes and answered all questions.
Three emotional factors were extracted from the nine emotional questions, which were ‘negative feeling,’ ‘empathy,’ and ‘suppression.’ In addition, ‘negative feelings’ had the greatest influence on nursing practices in terms of the nurses' emotions and their nursing practices when they cared for terminally ill patients and their families. ‘Empathy,’ which had been considered a central component in the nurse-patient relationship, was in fact not so closely related to their nursing practices.
It was clear that the negative feelings which nurses had must be examined separately with an issue of empathy and the negative feelings had an influence on nursing practices.
So we have to focus on the negative feelings themselves, which nurses have during their daily care for patients and their families. Furthermore we have to focus on the influences of their negative feelings upon their nursing practices.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the cognition of facial expression between the nursing students and the nurses, and the relationship between the cognition of facial expression and that of emotional sympathy.
Method: The participants were 63 nursing students of “A” University, and 45 nurses of “B” hospital. JIFP test was used for measurement of the cognition of facial expression. The feeling and the emotion which was answered by the participants were classified into the corresponding categories, and the appearance rate of the category of each photograph and the frequency of the use of the category were calculated. Moreover, pleasant-unpleasant feelings of photographs were evaluated by the participants at five point levels. The emotional sympathy scale was used for measurement of the participants' emotional sympathy.
Results: 1. Although the nursing students and the nurses recognized the photographs' expressions well, differences in the cognition were shown in some photographs. 2. The frequency of the use of sadness, dissatisfaction, jealousy, and some others was higher in the nursing students, and that of sleepiness and self-assertion was higher in the nurses. 3. Although the nursing students and the nurses evaluated the photographs' expressions appropriately on a pleasant-unpleasant feeling scale, differences were recognized with 12 photographs, and the score of the nursing students was lower than that of the nurses. 4. The score of “emotional sympathy scale I; emotional-warmth” was significantly higher in the students, but the score of “emotional sympathy scale II; emotional-coolness” was significantly higher in the nurses. 5. The correlation was recognized between the score of each of the emotional scales and the frequency of the use of some categories.
Conclusion: It was suggested that emotional sympathy was involved in cognition of the facial expressions which showed differences between the nursing students and the nurses.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify and explore the differences found between what nurses working in terminal care in palliative care wards and general wards, regarded as characteristics of a “good death”. This study was designed as a qualitative, inductive study. The study participants were 10 nurses working in palliative care wards and 12 nurses working in general wards. Data collection involved interviews and participatory observation.
The characteristics of what nurses regard as a good death were divided into 5 categories: “dying surrounded by family,” “control of symptoms was and no pain,” “time remaining was spent meaningful,” “peaceful ending,” “acceptance of dying.” When the characteristics of what was considered a “good death” are compared between nurses in palliative care and general care wards, no great difference was found in the ideal, but differences were found in whether nurses believe that their ideal of last moments were being realized, and whether nurses believed that they were contributing to and supporting the process for a good death.

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