This study aimed to clarify the experiences of parents who continue to live in a community that has children with schizophrenia.

A semiconstructive interview was conducted with 16 parents aged ≥65 years who participated in a family association in prefecture A, and the results were analyzed using the modified-grounded theory approach.

The analysis generated 9 categories and 23 concepts. After the onset of the disease, the parents felt [distress associated with the disease] and [decided to take care of their children based on parental love] as their parental responsibility. By repeatedly [avoided and confronted their children] in response to fluctuating mental symptoms, the parents [gained freedom from the feeling of being haunted by the disease] and obtained [support from friends and others close to them who understand their situations]. Consequently, the parents [strived to maintain their health by focusing on their own lives]. It was also revealed that the parents discussed about diseases and the future with their children [in preparation for their children’s lives after their death].

Changes in the lives of children with schizophrenia may make it possible for their parents to change their attitudes toward mental symptoms through careful monitoring to observation. Furthermore, in the wake of such changes, parents reflected on themselves, resulting in the realization that the parent–child relationship involves equal partnership.

Presented herein is a case study that examined recovery progression in patients with anorexia nervosa. Three female patients with anorexia nervosa who had been admitted to a psychiatric ward were included in the study, and were interviewed by nurses using “8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder”; a book written by eating disorder treatment specialists who had experienced eating disorders themselves, describing the important factors for their recovery and the effective methods they had learned as specialists.

Each patient underwent a total of 10 interviews. The first interview was an assessment of the Japanese version of the 24-item Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), a subjective measure of patient recovery. The second-through-ninth interviews were conducted on Keys 1–8 from the book. The tenth interview consisted of an interview and evaluation of the RAS. The data obtained from the interviews were qualitatively analyzed and the RAS scores before and after the nursing interviews were compared.

Through these interviews, interview and RAS, the patients began to understand their relationships with others. In addition, the sessions served as an opportunity for the patients to face themselves. The RAS score increased in one patient after the sessions, but decreased in the other two, compared to their scores before the interview sessions. The decreases observed in the two patients are suspected to have been attributed to realistic responses because they became able to view themselves objectively by confronting themselves.

This study aimed to identify factors which influence mental health literacy among school nurses in Japan. The study specifically focuses on identifying the factors affecting educational and mental health resources of school nurses, who provide effective mental health care to students.

In total, 201 school nurses from the capital region of Japan were surveyed. A self-administered questionnaire that included the Japanese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale, Literacy of Suicide Scale, and Link Stigma Scale was used. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine factors influencing mental health literacy.

The average score on the Japanese version of the Mental Health Literacy Scale was 119.32 (SD = 11.12). Significant predictors of mental health literacy in school nurses included Suicide Literacy (β = .245) and stigma (β = –.178); psychiatric medical history (β = .141), collaboration with medical institutions (β = .198), and availability of care consultations (β = .205), and awareness of suicide guidelines (β = .249), suicide prevention education (β = .153), and books (β = .217).

School nurses’ mental health literacy influences the quality of mental health care provided to students. To facilitate effective mental healthcare to students, enhancing school nurses’ educational and mental health resources is essential.

The aim of the present study was to clarify how psychiatric ward nurses prognosticate imminent risks of committing suicide in patients suffering from depression based on the psychiatric nurses’ clinical experience. Semi-structed interviews were conducted on 9 nurses having 5 years or longer clinically working experience in psychiatric wards, with special attention given to the nurses’ ability to sense a state of urgency or something out of the ordinary in their patients’ speaking and behavior. After coding each answer, focusing on the nurses’ thoughts and feelings, the answers were qualitatively and inductively analyzed, and each item was categorized based on similarities or differences, and the nurses’ feelings and experience in noticing the patients’ desire to commit suicide. The results were classified into 5 categories: 1) understanding the patient’s deepening sense of loss, 2) sensing discrepancy between the patient’s hidden feelings and expressed attitudes, 3) presence of a barrier in personal relationship with the patient and a fear toward being powerless to cope with the patient, 4) prediction of the worst-case scenario during various depressive stages, 5) re-emergence of the nurse’s negative experiences being replayed on-site. Psychiatric nurses tried to find meanings of the individual experience even with their painful memory such as encountering their patient’s suicide in the past, and tried to be honest with their own intuitive sense obtained through clinical experience, believing that the patients’ suicidal act can yet be prevented and the life can be rescued.

Purpose: To understand the clinical judgment process of nurses at dementia treatment wards when identifying early signs of aggressive behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 nurses from a dementia treatment ward, all of whom had experience in identifying early signs of aggressive behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Data were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA).

Results: Two categories and seven subcategories were identified from 24 concepts. The basis of clinical judgment processes when recognizing signs of aggressive behavior in patients with dementia was to establish a foundation of safety. This process included strategies aimed at ensuring the psychological safety in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, with an emphasis on understanding each patient as unique, which was crucial for accurately interpreting signs of aggression. Repeating the processes of verifying signs of aggressive behaviors and using strategies to prevent said aggressive behaviors encouraged the nurses to develop a deeper understanding of their patients, and the accuracy of their clinical judgments improved.

Conclusion: The clinical judgment process of nurses at the dementia treatment ward regarding identification of early signs of aggressive behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease was based on repetition of identification of signs of aggressive behavior and utilization of measures to avoid aggressive behavior.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with addiction faced increased relapse risks and changes in supportive social resources. This study aimed to uncover how the subjective experiences of people living through the pandemic influenced their addictive behaviors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six adults dealing with addiction, and subsequent thematic analysis was performed wherein several key findings emerged. Pandemic-induced social restrictions and the inability to access in-person support groups were identified as factors prompting substance reuse or addictive behaviors, however, peer support played a crucial role in buffering these negative impacts. This study underscores the importance for those on a recovery journey to maintain supportive connections with recovery peers during challenging times. This insight is vital for understanding addiction recovery dynamics in the post-pandemic era, suggesting the need for innovative approaches to foster and maintain supportive peer connections among those struggling with addiction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review on the difficulties experienced by nurses in physical medicine departments when dealing with patients with mental health problems, and to obtain suggestions for continuing education.

Method: This study focused on 13 documents related to the difficulties perceived by nurses in physical medicine departments with patients with mental health disorders, and synthesized the documents.

Results: As a result of the literature synthesis, we identified the following problems: “lack of knowledge and experience necessary for the development of psychiatric nursing”, “nursing practices that do not go as planned”, “retention of triggered negative emotions”, and “support systems for organizations where implementation is difficult”.

Conclusions: We used simulation techniques that support not only understanding the patient’s disease and assessing symptoms, but also acquiring clinical knowledge that envisions how to provide nursing support based on actual nursing assistance and the recipient’s reaction to that assistance. The development of a continuing education program that incorporates this was suggested. We also believe that educational support regarding stress management aimed at strengthening nurses’ own self-care is necessary.

This study aimed to describe the experience of newly graduated nurses in private psychiatric hospitals with continuing employment and examine the support provided. Qualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The participants were newly graduated nurses in psychiatric hospitals who responded freely to the interview. Data recorded using an IC recorder were analyzed thematically.

The participants were seven nurses in their second to fifth year after graduation. Before joining the hospital, they experienced finding psychiatric nursing attractive during clinical hours and decided to work at a psychiatric hospital. After joining the hospital, they were accepted as fellows in the ward and deepened their engagement with patients after many attempts at their daily work. Although they felt hostile, they continued to interact with the patients together with their ward fellows. These experiences led to the realization of the attraction of psychiatric nursing. The emotional support from the ward staff enabled them to interact with patients after many attempts and realize the attraction of psychiatric nursing through the clinical hours that supports their continuous employment.

Purpose: The study identifies changes and innovations in education developed by psychiatric and mental health nursing faculty at a four-year university during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, their evaluation of their education during the pandemic, and their perceptions of their education after the pandemic.

Research Method: A questionnaire survey was administered to psychiatric and mental health nursing faculty members working at four-year universities who oversaw psychiatric nursing education between 2020 and 2022.

Results: About 105 valid responses were analyzed. Nearly all the participants experienced “school attendance restrictions” and 86.7% created changes in “lectures.” Participants who rated the achievement of educational objectives of “lectures” as “sufficient” and “insufficient” were split at 40% each. Almost all the participants made changes in “practical training,” with 55% of participants rating the achievement of educational objectives as “insufficient” and 30% as “sufficient.” respectively. 58% of participants reported that the students’ interpersonal skills had changed.

Discussion: Online lectures and practical training sessions using ICT and flexible teaching methods that combined face-to-face learning were developed during the pandemic. Development of psychiatric nursing education, including digitization, is needed to promote students’ interpersonal skills and to address issues such as recovery support in the community.