Objective: To describe how administrative affairs officials and public health nurses (PHNs) within local government administrative organizations recognize PHN’s work through interactions.

Methods: We conducted ethnographic interviews with 10 administrative affairs officials and 15 PHNs at a prefectural health center and city hall. Observations of seminars and meetings as well as examinations of PHN training manuals were used as supplemental data. All data were analyzed qualitatively.

Results: In total, two categories and four sub-categories were identified for administrative affairs officials. The two categories were (1) “administrative affairs officials recognize PHNs’ work based on their own criteria related to their own administrative working style” and (2) “administrative affairs officials request PHNs to improve their administrative ability.” Similarly, two categories and four sub-categories were identified for PHNs. The two categories were (1) “PHNs felt that their work was not understood by administrative affairs officials” and (2) “PHNs made an effort to collaborate with administrative affairs officials as members of the same administrative organization.”

Discussion: Administrative affairs officials recognized PHN’s work based on bureaucratic organizational knowledge and behavioral patterns. In contrast, PHNs recognized their work from the perspective of a nursing professional. This disparity in perspectives affected their power balance within the organization. When working in collaboration, PHNs must consider that their criteria of values differ from those of administrative affairs officials. We have discussed strategies and education for PHN students and PHNs working at administrative organizations to improve their collaboration with administrative affairs officials.

Purpose: This study aimed to measure community awareness regarding the need to support people with cognitive impairment.

Methods: We recruited 225 residents (age: >60 years) from a metropolitan city area. Each participant completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire and returned it to a collection box in a community center. The questionnaire involved questions regarding participants’ awareness regarding the need to support people with cognitive impairment, their attitude toward dementia, and community consciousness in their own community. Descriptive analysis, χ² test, Fisher’s exact test, and t-test were used to analyze responses.

Results: We received valid responses from 177 participants. Among these, 130 considered the possibility of offering support to people with cognitive impairment. Of these 130 participants who considered offering support, 102 were willing to monitor, 87 were willing to serve as a conversational partner, and 14 were willing to help with the housework of people with cognitive impairment. The possibility of offering support was associated with a positive attitude toward people with dementia, community consciousness about positivity, enrichment from cooperation, and recognition of an equal relationship with the community administration.

Conclusion: Residents can support people with cognitive impairment in several ways, such as by monitoring them or serving as a conversational partner. To promote the support of people with cognitive impairment, residents need to have community consciousness regarding community development and a positive attitude toward people with dementia.

Objective: This research aimed to clarify the relationship between face-to-face contact and social support from friends or neighbors and loneliness in the early elderly.

Methods: We distributed questionnaires to the early elderly (65–74 years) who are independent and residing in three areas of Northern A prefecture. The questionnaire items comprised questions regarding individual factors, relationship with friends or neighbors, and loneliness. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used, and loneliness was considered as the dependent variable.

Results: Effective responses were obtained from 292 of the 299 surveyed participants (effective response rate: 48.7%). The average loneliness score was 1.41±2.17 points. The five items significantly related to loneliness after adjusting for individual factors were as follows: not satisfied after meeting friends (OR=5.72), meeting neighbors less than a few times a month (OR=2.94), not satisfied after meeting neighbors (OR=3.15), and not receiving emotional support from others (OR=2.81).

Discussion: The data suggest that to alleviate loneliness in the early elderly who are in transition to retirement and wish to adapt to the community, they should regularly meet friends and neighbors to build or maintain a deep association with them. This will provide the early elderly with greater satisfaction when they meet their friends and neighbors.

Objective: To identify how patients with intractable diseases living under home care build their own customized lifestyles while they face a series of experiences of loss.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews of eight patients with intractable diseases living under home care. We collected data about their feelings and conditions, which change with disease progression. We conducted an analysis using the revised version of the grounded theory approach.

Results: The process of building customized lifestyles begins with a deviation from daily life. Following their diagnosis of an intractable disease, patients feel anxious about their unforeseeable future and to shelve their emotions as [nothing can be done]. During this time, patients must create a balance between making independent efforts to care for themselves and obtaining the required support. By building a modifiable and customized lifestyle, which can be adapted to long-term care, they found their way to a stage where they defined their role and felt that they belonged to society.

Discussion: To develop the process, it was important for patients to shelve their emotions as [nothing can be done].