Objectives: The purposes of this study were to clarify test values, subjective symptoms, and lifestyle characteristics of male employees diagnosed with fatty liver disease through abdominal ultrasonography during a periodic medical examination, and to improve health guidelines to prevent the occurrence of fatty liver disease in the occupational setting.
Methods: The subjects were 216 male employees who underwent abdominal ultrasonography during a periodic medical examination conducted at a manufacturing company in Tokyo. The subjects were divided into two groups, those with (fatty liver group) and without (non-fatty liver group) fatty liver disease. The lifestyle characteristics and other data obtained during the medical examinations of both groups were compared.
Results: With respect to medical data, the fatty liver group (n=114) had a significantly higher percentage of subjects with increased body mass index, abdominal circumference, and other blood parameters than the non-fatty liver group (n=102). With respect to symptoms, the fatty liver group had a significantly higher percentage of subjects who were aware of changes in their weight. With respect to lifestyle, the fatty liver group had a significantly higher percentage of subjects who did not exercise for 30 minutes at least twice per week for more than 1 year. In the fatty liver group, 31 subjects (31.6%) were provided with specific counseling after their “Information Level” was gauged.
Conclusion: It is important for those with fatty liver disease to confirm their test values, have health guidance on a regular basis, and learn about exercises that can be continued on a long-term basis. In addition, even in those subjects with fatty liver disease with a hierarchy of “Information Level”, the need for health guidance to an individual or group approach was observed.

View full abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify inappropriate child-rearing (ICR) practices by parents in need of preventive support.
Methods: Participants included 24 specialists of dealing with child abuse. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed with summarizing content analysis. Each participant provided voluntary informed consent to participate in the study, which was approved by the ethical committee of the authors’ university.
Results: ICR as perceived by the participants could be classified into two groups: “weak interactions” (WI), or not exercising sufficient power, and “excessive interactions” (EI), or exercising excessive power. WI consisted of the following four categories: “insufficiently fulfilling the roles and responsibilities as parents and giving priority to their own affairs”, “inability to establish daily rhythms, living habits, and consistency of matters related to food, clothing and shelter”, “not sharing time with and responding to the needs of the children as required by the children’s development”, and “inability to empathize with the children and not understanding their intentions, unexpressed signs, and feelings”. EI consisted of the following four categories: “controlling children by force”, “showing an attitude of rejecting or denying the needs of the children”, “controlling children in ways that are overbearing”, and “lack of parental respect for the children as distinct persons shown by excessively interfering in the children’s affairs and imposing parental ideals and expectations on the children”.
Conclusion: Aspects of WI and EI may signal behaviors preliminary to full-scale neglect and physical and emotional abuse.

View full abstract

Objective: In the present study, expert public health nurses and researchers collaborated to improve nursing interventions for patients with intractable spinocerebellar degenerative disease.
Methods: This was an action research study. Four experienced public health nurses, who worked in public health centers participated and the researcher was a university faculty member who attended meetings in order to provide counseling.
Results: The nurses experienced difficulty relating to patients with intractable spinocerebellar degeneration, so the researcher helped to clarify patient issues. As a result, the nurses better recognized their own roles. This enabled a transition to more evidence-based nursing interventions and subsequently a strengthened Plan-Do-See cycle, yielded more dynamic nursing activities.
Conclusion: This study clarified the process by which experienced public health nurses changed their nursing practice. They improved their nursing activities by analyzing local issues and organizing their activities for publication.

View full abstract

[in Japanese]

View full abstract