Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the dietary acculturation of Filipinas living in an urban area in Japan.
Method: An ethnographic approach inductive and analysis were used to examine data from interviews conducted with six Filipinas.
Results: The analysis revealed 29 subcategories and 8 categories that were constructed from 141 units.
Conclusion: Filipinas acculturated to Japanese dietary habits while retaining their own traditions. They adopted Japanese cooking methods and adapted Filipino foods to a Japanese style. They ate simple Japanese food, and accepted Japanese dietary habits to maintain health. When conducting health guidance for Filipinas, health care professionals must first assess their acculturation. Health guidance should then be based on the process of acceptance of Japanese sociocultural practices and an understanding of how to help Filipino immigrants maintain or change their lifestyles and health practices.

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Objectives: This study examined self-reported work-life balance (WLB) and factors associated with high or low self-evaluation, to identify the requirements for achieving WLB among proficient public health nurses (PHNs).
Methods: A mail survey with an anonymous self-report questionnaire was sent to 630 PHNs. Responses obtained from 366 PHNs (valid response rate: 58.1%) from 125 municipalities in Hokkaido were analyzed. Self-reported WLB was evaluated on a scale from 1 to 100. Based on the WLB scores, PHNs were divided into low- and high-level groups. Fisher’s exact test was performed to determine how high and low levels of WLB were associated with the PHNs’ characteristics, work environment, and perception of work and life. A logistic regression was performed using the variables that were significantly associated with high and low levels of WLB.
Results: The mean self-reported WLB score was points and the median was 70 points. In the group with a low WLB, significantly more PHNs reported work fatigue, had a negative perception of the work environment and the work itself, and were generally unsatisfied with life. In the logistic regression, self-reported WLB was significantly higher for the PHNs who responded as follows: “my workplace is an organization that takes good care of the staff”; “I can switch between work and private life and go home when I have finished my tasks without constraints”; “I am satisfied with my role at home”; and “I am satisfied with the quality of my rest and relaxation.”
Conclusion: To ensure a good WLB among proficient public health nurses, it is important for nurses to effectively shift back and forth between work and private life, to feel satisfied with their roles at home, to take high-quality rest that is refreshing and relaxing, and to intentionally promote balance between work and personal life.

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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate circumstances related to the physical and psychological health of local government employees who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Method: A semi-structured interview was conducted with 30 local government staff in a town that suffered extensive tsunami damage. The participants included 17 men and 13 women (mean age, 40.6 years). This study took place in September 2011, 6 months after the disaster.
Results: Two core categories, nine categories, and nineteen subcategories were extracted from the data during analysis. The first core category was balancing personal losses with the necessity of meeting work responsibilities. The second core category was the enormous and difficult work-related challenges caused by the disaster.
Conclusion: On a personal level, local officials were disaster victims, and they mourned the death of family and friends. In the workplace, the human loss of colleagues, and the material loss due to the collapse of the public office building and damage to some documents caused great difficulty. Following a disaster, local government employees must be continuously supported to help them maintain their physical and psychological health.

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Objective: The purpose of the study was to clarify positive changes in mothers who received home visits provided by public health nurses because of suspected or possible child abuse.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding home visits involving 9 public health nurses who had more than 5 years of experience in providing home visits for families who were suspected or were at risk for occurrence of child abuse. Eighteen cases were analyzed for “positive changes and improvements observed in mothers after providing support” using a qualitative and inductive approach.
Results: The analysis of positive changes among mothers were identified and grouped into the following 5 categories: “Improvement of poor parenting”, “Reduction of negative attitudes towards parenting”, “Physical and mental improvements”, “Use of community services and expansion of social relationships”, and “Building trust with public health nurses”.
Conclusions: Positive changes were observed after support provided by public health nurses, such as improvements in mothers’ parenting, links with community services, and expansion of parenting support. Further studies must be conducted to examine the relationships between the positive changes in mothers and child abuse prevention.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between health literacy, life events and cervical cancer screening activities of Japanese women in their 20s.
Methods: An anonymous self-administered questionnaire, which included the Health Literacy Scale was conducted on 2,078 working women in their 20s and 30s. Of the 1,233 respondents (response rate: 59.3%), 729 women in their 20s were chosen as the target for this analysis. Univariate analysis was performed to compare subjects scoring below the median on the Health Literacy Scale (“low group”) against those scoring above the median (“high group”).
Results: In comparison to the high group, a significantly higher proportion of those in the low group were high school graduates, were unmarried, had no history of pregnancy, and had no history of medical screening for cervical cancer. The results of the univariate analysis using health literacy as a dependent variable with adjustments for age and academic background revealed odds ratios of 1.75 (95% confidence interval 1.09–2.82) for history of marriage, 1.82 (95% confidence interval 1.07–3.11) for history of pregnancy, and 1.85 (95% confidence interval 1.36–2.51) for history of medical screening for cervical cancer.
Conclusions: Encouragement by nurses during life events and medical screening can potentially improve health literacy.

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