This is a qualitative descriptive study using the phenomenological approach with an aim to clarify how men diagnosed with cancer in young adulthood will live out their lives thereafter. Of the six participants, this paper describes the experiences of Mr. C, from which the theme of dividing himself from just being a cancer patient into a multifaceted self was derived.

Having been diagnosed with scirrhous gastric cancer in his mid-twenties, Mr. C, during the course of ten years since the diagnosis, divided his self into activities as a cancer survivor, his work, and his family life, trying to get out of the then current situation where he would be “forever in the state of being a patient”, and was able to move toward who he wanted to be. This enabled Mr. C to become who he is now and allowed to enjoy his current life, by regarding his cancer as his partner to share the journey going forward.

It was suggested that those who interact with these survivors need to pay attention to the patients’ multifaceted self so as not to force on them, who are in pursuit of their new self, the label of cancer patient.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the awareness and efforts of teachers in special needs education schools with regard to disaster drills in snowy and cold regions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six teachers. The results showed that, in addition to feeling concern owing to the characteristics of children, teachers thought that “Evacuation drills in winter is related to the physical condition of the children”, they felt a strong overall sense of purpose and responsibility characterized by the idea that “[They] have to protect the children” However, they had made efforts to “Try disaster drills in winter” with consideration for the effects on the children that would accompany the snow and cold. Additionally, from an awareness of the “Difficulty of evacuating on snowy roads” and “Not being able to evacuate without sufficient manpower”, they made efforts to “Divide tasks amongst themselves to evacuate the children”. Because “The children cannot be evacuated if they are confused”, efforts such as “Encouraging the children to picture the situation for themselves” were made so that they can form an idea of what is going to happen. The need was suggested for collaboration between healthcare and education to resolve the issues faced during disaster drills in winter, and to investigate how to make disaster drills in winter safer for children.

Although the focus of psychiatric care in Japan is moving to the acute phase, patients who have been hospitalized for decades are still largely ignored. The purpose of this study was to depict the experiences of very long-term inpatients in a psychiatric ward as captured during interaction with the researcher, and to discuss the characteristics and meanings of these interactions.

After complete disclosure regarding the purpose of the study, the researcher conducted fieldwork in a women’s chronic open ward once a week for a total of 50 times during the day shift. The study participants were four patients who had been hospitalized in the psychiatric hospital for more than 40 years and who agreed to participate in this study.

The results showed that it was not easy for the participants to talk about their past and, when they did, their memories were fragmented; they had lost their temporal and human connections and meanings, suggesting a traumatic experience in the past. In the discussion, the characteristics of the interaction with the patient in relation to the trauma, the difficulty of listening to the narrative, and the possibility of recovery were examined.

This study aims is to clarify the experiences of nurses infected with COVID-19 leading up to their return to work. An online semi-structural interview was conducted with a female nurse working in the COVID-19 treatment ward and analyzed qualitatively and inductively. As a result, 65 codes, 24 subcategories, and 14 categories were identified. Before the infection, she [controlled herself in a situation wherein she had to apply for COVID-19 patient care], and immediately after the infection, she had [infectious shock and anxiety about successive infections]. During hospitalization, she felt [increased anxiety from the care experience of COVID-19 patients]. During her return, she felt [stress from the relationship with her superior at work] and [anxiety about sequelae and reinfection that could not be eliminated even after returning], and [worked to return to work]. She was [strengthening mind and body]. Therefore, it was suggested that nurses working in the COVID-19 treatment ward should have a working system that makes it easy to recover even if they are infected and long-term mental support.

<Objectives> We sought to clarify the relationships between mid-career nurse workplace adaptation and work performance, personal support, good personal relations, and ease of working environment. <Methods> Mid-career nurses from 91 Japanese Red Cross hospitals performed a self-administered questionnaire survey. Measurement instruments included use of four readily available variables associated with the degree of workplace adaptation: “work autonomy”, “relations with superiors”, “workplace atmosphere”, and “environment accept”. Evaluation of workplace adaptation relationships were performed by analysis of 10 work performance variables, 29 personal support variables, 4 good personal relations variables, and 4 ease of working environment explanatory variables designed by the author. <Results> 187 satisfied the defined research conditions. Analysis of the relationships between workplace adaptation and work performance revealed a strong correlation with “night-shift leader adequate competence” and “day-shift leader adequate competence”. Personal support variables which showed strong positive correlations included 2 head nurse support variables, 2 preceptor support variables, and 5 nursing staff support variables. Good personal relations among nursing staff showed a strong positive correlation with workplace adaptation, while 3 ease of working environment variables showed a weak

Objective: To clarify the practices of skilled nurses who have experience working at an institution based on the philosophy of the Red Cross.

Methods: Unstructured interviews were conducted with six nurses with experience working at an institution based on the philosophy of the Red Cross. The data was qualitatively analyzed and described.

Results: Seven nursing practices were identified: Determining the individual's personality from everything that comes into view; understanding the person’s feelings and reading the landscape of their mind; focusing on the impression of the person you get when you meet them without having preconceptions; quickly assessing a person and determining how to respond to their situation; maintaining non-medical persons’ feeling; having belief of the importance of unique nursing care; and being capable of properly communicating the idea of nursing to other professionals who have different perspectives.

Discussion: The practices of skilled nurses who have experience working at an institution based on the Red Cross philosophy were characterized by a respect for the individual's personality and a focus on practice, rather than mere theory, based on their insights of nursing. The practice of embracing diversity that values each individual is linked to the humanitarian philosophy of the Red Cross and has been handed down to the present day.

Purpose: This study aims to clarify the experiences of people receiving home oxygen therapy (HOT) including how they live their social life and what kind of feelings they have.

Methods: Qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted using semi-structured interviews with nine people who have received HOT.

Results: The following categories, indicated with double quotes, were identified : In their “social life in which they distance themselves from people due to the hassle of HOT” they felt numerous burdens, yet they were trying to find how to connect with society; in their “social life that they have been continuing” each individual’s uniquely devised ways were found in order to continue working and hobbies; and in their “new social life that they create” their experiences of considering where to put themselves based on the readjustment of roles and relationships with others became clear.

Conclusion: The HOT recipients’ participation in social life constituted the experience of exercising their own creativity while striking a balance between figuring out the best way to maintain their social life and their various emotions and the bodily symptoms caused by engaging with others and the surroundings. To realize the social life desired by HOT recipients it is important to raise awareness of HOT not only among those who are close to them but also in society as a whole.

The number of child abuse is steadily increasing. Therefore, we conducted a survey with the aim of clarifying the confusion of the members of the Child Abuse Prevention System (CAPS) regarding the abuse support, and obtaining suggestions for hospital support and response.

In the group interview method, we had a discussion with the participation of twelve CAPS members. We conducted an interview, which was analyzed based on the qualitative integration method.

The CAPS members were aware of “fulfilling their responsibilities as a medical professional” and “necessity of fact confirmation” about child abuse. They found it difficult to deal with “response required under uncertain circumstances as a medical professional” and “reactions of parents suspected of abuse and consideration for them”. In particular, they had difficulty in dealing with parents including grandparents which is caused by “diversification of values between households” and “relationship between parental characteristics and abuse”, which became “barriers on the medical system side”.

“Interpretation of phenomena influenced by the values of medical professionals” led to the “trial of countermeasures in the current situation” such as direct support and cooperation with the government, and “difficulty in cooperation with related organizations and facilities”. The challenges were identified in various phenomena. “Inherent family problems” and “concerns and dilemmas of overlooking abuse held by medical staff” were factors that deepened the sense of difficulty.