This study analyzed the illness experience of a nurse, a young woman (Ms. F) suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in line with her own experience. Based on that, this study aimed to describe an aspect of what it means to live a chronic illness and the factors which bring about such experience from the ill person’s point of view. Through the careful description of Ms. F's experience narrated in the interview, it was found that “unclearness concerning illness” and “difficulty of being understood” played pivotal roles in her illness experience. Ms. F was trying to cope with her experienced unclearness, at first by gathering a variety of information, and then by using her judgment that was acquired through her groping in the illness experience. It was also pointed out that the difficulty of being understood was related to the culture that demanded heroism from nurses and people’s general assumption that patients should be able to explain their illnesses and their physical conditions in an understandable manner.

COVID-19 is dramatically changing peoples’ lives and affecting their mental health. This study aimed to clarify the stressful events and coping behaviors of parents raising infants during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the childcare support situation and needs. A survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Of the 2,154 distributed questionnaires, 346 completed questionnaires were recovered, and 310 of these were analyzed. Parents felt stress from “not being able to take a break like before.” Compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic, parents were receiving approximately 10% less childcare support from their close friends and medical professionals and desired “the development of an environment for learning and play with peace of mind.” In coexisting with COVID-19, professionals who are involved with parents raising infants must understand the stress experienced by parents due to the prolonged nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and accordingly provide support tailored to the ever-changing situation.

This study aims to describe the experience of mothers who have continued breastfeeding for more than six months and perceived breastfeeding as comfortable.

The mothers felt comfort as illustrated by ‘ease of feelings that comes from a baby sucking and drinking from the breast,’ ‘relaxing breastfeeding time allowing physical contact with the baby,’ ‘joy and happiness of breastfeeding derived from the awareness of stable breastfeeding,’ ‘ease of breastfeeding as it is economical and easy,’ and ‘affection towards breastfeeding felt by continuing the breastfeeding for a long time.’ Multiparous mothers felt that ‘the anxiety about breastfeeding was alleviated based on their experience with their older children.’ Mental and physical pain was alleviated by ‘a sense of freedom from the pain of sticking to breastfeeding in choosing formula’ when breastfeeding did not go well. They also felt comfortable when ‘their anxiety was alleviated by sympathetic support from midwives, fellow mothers, and family members.’ The findings suggest that mothers will find breastfeeding comfortable while continuing breastfeeding being supported by others.

Purpose: This study aimed at clarifying how the process of peer meetings for nurses evolved. The peer meetings were attended by nurses of the outpatient department from different sections to talk with each other about middle aged cancer outpatients for whom they provide care.

Methods: This is qualitative descriptive research employing action research. Over 13 months I organized 18 meetings with 25 nurses from 11 sections so they could discuss beyond the border of their sections the care they provide. I conducted 28 informal interviews with each of them during this period. Verbatim transcripts of the meetings and field notes were used in combination for qualitative analyses.

Results: As the sessions’ process evolved six phases became evident. Each nurse squarely faced questions about their experience of dealing with cancer patients. They began the meetings by sharing their experiences of emotional conflicts. They found there were patients that nurses from more than one section heard the same concern about and their discussion changed to talk about such patients. Eventually, the nurses gained confidence in their intradepartmental teamwork. They discovered the value in reexamining their daily interactions with the patients and analyzing the meaning with their colleagues. The nurses found their roles of connecting and made their work evolve.

Discussion: It was suggested that in supporting middle aged cancer patients in the outpatient department it is important to discuss and connect with each other using a point of concern about a patient as a clue to gaining a deeper understanding.

This study aims to develop a scale to measure the comfort of breastfeeding perceived by mothers. We created question items based on interview data of breastfeeding mothers, evaluated the content validity, and created a draft scale. Using the draft scale, a web-based anonymous survey was conducted with mothers who breastfeed infants aged 3 to 6 months to verify its reliability and validity. As the results of factor analysis on 553 responses and the examination of the reliability, we developed a scale for comfort of breastfeeding perceived by the mothers with 25 items in the following four factors: Feelings of happiness while breastfeeding, Posture with comfortable breastfeeding, Sense of ease in the supportive environment, and Satisfaction with the amount of breast milk and feeding method. Cronbach’s α coefficient for the total scale was .884. We examined the construct validity using the known group method. There were differences by nutritional method: the scores of the complete breastfeeding group were statistically significantly higher than those of the mixed nutrition and the mostly artificial nutrition groups. The scores of mothers with breastfeeding difficulty factors, such as preterm or multiple births in the early postpartum period, were significantly lower than those without such factors.

Objective: To describe the experiences of female hospital nurses who continue to work during pregnancy without any major problems.

Method: Secondary analysis was performed on the data collected in the first stage of the “Hierarchical models of individual and workplace traits affecting pregnancy and childbirth among Japanese hospital nurses,” (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 15K11569) study from 2015 to 2017. Interview data from 10 out of 28 participants, who had continued to work during pregnancy without any major problems, were used for narrative analysis.

Results: Prior to pregnancy, the research participants loved the nursing profession, felt no hesitation about having children and believed that they could continue to work by referring to their mothers and colleagues as role models. During pregnancy, the nurses practiced their duties at their own pace while consulting with their superiors and colleagues within an atmosphere of mutual respect for pregnancy in the workplace.

Conclusions: The research participants understood the changes occurring in their own bodies and believed themselves capable of practicing their duties while proactively coordinating work-related matters such as scheduling, break time, and work duties with their colleagues. Furthermore, the workplace atmosphere of acceptance, and understanding of pregnancy and childbirth from their superiors and colleagues seemed to allow the nurses to demonstrate their abilities without detriment to the nursing profession.

This qualitative descriptive study aimed to clarify the support required from practicing midwives to enhance the sense of joint child rearing among couples. After conducting semi-structured interviews with three practicing midwives in the Kanto area, it was established that they built relationships of trust through comprehensive support for couples and continuous involvement with them. They became a source of support, by providing empathy for the wives’ emotional and physical difficulties, and exploring support methods that suit the couple. In addition to becoming a coordinator for the couple, they communicate the importance of expressing one’s feelings within a marriage (specifically assisting husbands to express their expectations), and praising the couple for their growth and involvement. They provided support for new parents through prenatal checkups, childbirth, and child-rearing guidance, particularly when husbands found it challenging to be present to experience the growth of their children. They nurtured preparedness.

Purpose: To clarify what kinds of experiences proficient nurses graduate from university in the process of carrying out clinical nursing research, and what those experiences mean to them.

Methods: Six nurses who have graduated from nursing colleges and three to seven years of experience, who are involved in clinical nursing research. Interviews were conducted 5 or 6 times per participant during the period from start to finish of their researches at different intervals; nurses talked about things that happened in the process of their researches, as well as what they felt at and how they perceive each episode.

Results: Seven themes were extracted

1. Confusion over the disparity between the thoroughness of university research and clinical nursing research that lacks such thoroughness:

2. Effort to accept the situation they were in even though they were confused:

3. Strong desire to pursue research and use the findings in clinical nursing:

4. Struggle to make the research as scientific as possible despite various restrictions:

5. Enthusiasm to work on the research driven by curiosity:

6. Becoming a dependable presence on the team:

7. Recognition of changes in own perception and behavior through the research:

Discussion: They have improved their ability by reflecting on their own thoughts and behaviors during the research process. It was considered that the basis for such an attitude was fostered in their college training for thorough logical thinking as well as critical thinking.

Background: Rapid response systems (RRS) are designed to prevent unexpected in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest. To decrease mortality, it is essential to clarify the factors related to nurses’ delayed activation and non-activation of the rapid response team (RRT).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify questionnaire items for the development of a tool to clarify factors related to nurses’ activation of RRTs.

Method: Based on a literature review and interviews with ward nurses, questionnaire items were extracted and categorized into four quadrants comprised of two axes: person-environment and facilitator-barrier.

Result: A total of 73 items were extracted and categorized into 12 categories. Categories of environmental facilitators and barriers were [Influence of the doctor in charge], [Influence of the department], and [Influence of the RRT]. Categories of personal facilitators and barriers were [Factors that affect judgment], [Professional knowledge and skills], and [Personal characteristics].

Conclusion: These questionnaire items are considered to reflect the current state of RRS in Japan and are expected to help in the development of a tool to clarify the factors that influence nurses’ activation of RRTs.

Aim: To describe management by head nurses at general acute-care wards where there are newly-graduated nurses that the head nurses and educators find difficult to work with.

Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six head nurses, and verbatim transcripts were analyzed inductively.

Results: The head nurses [observed problems regarding the newly-graduated nurses that they find difficult to work with] in terms of 〈difficult situations〉 and 〈impacts on other newly-graduated nurses〉. At the same time, the head nurses [observed educational environment], concerning 〈burdens of preceptors/educators〉, 〈educational capacity of wards〉 and 〈environment that is difficult for newly-graduated nurses to succeed〉. According to the results, the head nurses recognized concerns regarding fatigue accumulated among staff members and risks for medical accidents. Hence, the head nurses [proposed a teaching policy of “not to fall together”], which includes 〈modifying initial educational plan for the newly-graduated nurses whom they find difficult to work with〉, 〈addressing a teaching policy of “not to fall together”〉, 〈arranging tasks that the newly-graduated nurses who are difficult to work with could complete〉, and 〈staffing that balance between workloads and nurses assigned〉. Then, the head nurses [directly intervened with the newly-graduated nurses whom they find difficult to work with] and [provided supports for the preceptors or educators] by 〈correcting interpersonal relationships between the newly-graduated nurses who are difficult to work with and educators〉, 〈developing reliable preceptors/educators〉 and 〈introducing flexibility into wards〉.

Discussion: The head nurses applied diversity management and Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop.

This study examined primary words and constructs representing the learning contents of perioperative nursing practice at A college of nursing, confirm their usefulness. 108 reports submitted after acute care nursing practice were analyzed using Text Mining. <patients> was frequently appearing word, followed by <after surgery>, <necessary>, <surgery>, <anxiety>, <status>, <important>, <change>, <observation>, <practice>, <complications>, and <pain>, which were among the tops. The constructs extracted through typification using principal component and cluster analyses include: [nursing assessment based on drugs], [importance of pain control for early postoperative bed leaving], [practice of family nursing during the perioperative period], [possibility of complications due to surgical invasion and importance of observation with a view to discharge], [nursing that contributes to reducing anxiety in a limited time], [effects of surgical invasion on physical recovery and psychological aspects immediately after surgery], [planning ability based on knowledge with an eye on the situation], [individualized discharge guidance based on life before hospitalization], [Information gathering centered on diseases and treatments captured from the patient’s facial expressions and communication]. In particular, they studied mainly “post-surgery” in perioperative nursing and based on the effect of surgical invasion immediately after surgery, they provided physical observation during the postoperative acute phase and discharge guidance during the postoperative recovery phase.