This study aimed to examine if a total smoking ban on an university Campus prevents the acquisition of smoking habits in students after entering the university.

The subjects were 1,192 first-year students who entered a medical school between 2001 and 2011. At periodic health examinations, a self-administered questionnaire was used to examine their smoking status at entrance and one year later. In this survey, the subjects were tracked for one year and examined their smoking status. The percentages of subjects who acquired smoking habit and those who quitted smoking during the observational period were compared before and after the total smoking ban.

In male students, the mean percentage of new smokers was 11.5% before the smoking ban but 3.6% after the ban, indicating a significant reduction (chi-square test; p＜0.01). In contrast, the percentage of subjects who quitted smoking was 2.8% before the ban and 3.6% after the ban, indicating an increase but not significant. In female students, there was no significant difference between before and after the ban in the percentage of new smokers or subjects who quitted smoking.

Recently, aggression has been paid attention as a risk factor of health in college students in Japan, and then to cope and prevent an expression of aggression has been an important issue. Life skills education is considered to be effective to reduce aggression. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationships among life skills,aggression, and mental health, as paying attention to each composition factor and sex difference. Subjects were 561 college students (233 males, 328 females, mean age: 19.8±1.3 years). Aggression was evaluated by means of Japanese Version of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Daily Life skills Scale for College Students and GHQ12 were used to assess life skills and mental health respectively.

Independent t-tests between mean scores of males and females showed significant differences at “knowledge summarization”, “intimacy”, and “empathy” in life skill scores, “physical aggression” and “verbal aggression” in aggressive scores. Covariance structure analysis showed that the life skills scores were negatively related to the GHQ12 scores directly, and negatively related to the GHQ12 scores via the aggression scores. Only the models including “Physical aggression” did not show sufficient scores of goodness to fit the models.

It was suggested that improving life skills, e.g., by reducing aggression, contributed to mental health, but the process was different due to sex and/or several life skills.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical fitness test and academic achievement. The participants were 1,996 junior high school students (1,046 males and 950 females). A physical fitness test involving eight items (hand grip strength, sit-ups, sit and reach, side-to-side jump, 20-m shuttle run, 50-m dash, standing broad jump, and handball throw) was conducted to evaluate the fitness of the subjects. The cumulative guidance record was used to evaluate academic achievement in the subjects of Japanese, social studies, mathematics, science, music, art, physical education, technical course or home economics, and English. The academic achievement in each subject was rated on a 5-point scale. Positive associations were found between many items of physical fitness test and academic achievement. The total fitness test score was modestly associated with physical education, whereas the other subjects had a weak positive association. Among the males and females, the correlations of the 20-m shuttle run and side-to-side jump with academic achievement score were higher than those of the other items of the physical fitness test.

This paper aims to clarify the role of school nurses in the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia by comparing the job duties of school nurses in NSW with those of Yogo teachers in Japan. The questionnaire survey was conducted in 2006 and the subjects were 44 school nurses at private schools in NSW and 22 Yogo teachers at private schools in Prefecture A in Japan. The findings show that the school nurses were aware of the following two job duties： 1) first aid in the school and 2) management of the school health room. In private schools in NSW, not only school nurses but also school counselors, health agencies, contractors, and pertinent guardians are involved in promoting healthcare in the school. On the other hand, in addition to first aid in the school and management of the school health room, Yogo teachers in Japan were aware of several additional job duties such as health education, health counseling in the school, etc.

A comparison of the findings showed that the school nurses in NSW played the role of nursing professionals, but unlike Yogo teachers in Japan, they were less involved in additional job duties such as health education and health counseling in the school. In conclusion, school nurses in NSW in Australia play a more singular but significant role as nursing professionals, while Yogo teachers function more as members of the teaching staff who are responsible for all types of activities related to children's health.

The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary Yogo teachers collaborate with special educational needs coordinators to provide support for children with developmental disorders.

The study included 20 Yogo teachers who had supported children with developmental disorders at public elementary schools through collaboration with special educational needs coordinators. Subjects were surveyed by semi-structured interviews conducted between August 2010 and March 2011, and data obtained was qualitatively analyzed using the content analysis method.

Results indicated that Yogo teachers supported and utilized the services provided by the coordinator. Furthermore, a support network was created through collaboration between the Yogo teacher and coordinator enabling them to work together. The Yogo teacher provided support by collaborating with relevant bodies and organizations within the school, including the coordinator. The creation of such support networks led to accurate treatment and support of children, their guardians, and the class teachers. Therefore, successful involvement with coordinators was achieved by recognizing changes in the child and understanding that the treatment and support of the child was being handled smoothly.

In this study, we observed that Yogo teachers reconstructed support networks by complementing their own with those of coordinators and the results suggested that collaboration of relevant parties inside and outside schools enabled the expansion of such networks.

Purpose

To clarify the health condition in mind and body of schoolchildren suffering from the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake and health support services provided by their Yogo teachers.

Methods

Group interviews were carried out with three Yogo teachers from schools in Town A which was evacuated following the earthquake. The contents of the interviews were analyzed qualitatively.

Results and Discussion

1．Present health condition of schoolchildren

The results were classified into nine categories: (1) worries about future prospects for study and living; (2) increase in absenteeism due to changes in home environment; (3) worries and loneliness due to changes in relationships with friends; (4) inability to adjust to changes in school environment; (5) feeling limitations for coping; (6) increase in absenteeism; (7) parental concern about radioactive contamination; (8) adjustments to school life in evacuated areas; and (9) returning to normal school life. Even 18 months after the earthquake disaster chronic physical and psychological stresses due to living in temporary shelters for prolonged periods have led to physical and psychological problems and absenteeism. The results also reveal parental concern about radioactive contamination harming their children's health.

2．Health support services provided by Yogo teachers

These were classified into 13 categories: (1) providing health and hygiene goods to temporary shelters; (2) providing first-aid to evacuees; (3) ensuring the safety of children; (4) confirming the safety of children; (5) health management of children; (6) psychological care of children; (7) visiting absentee students at home; (8) support for families; (9) cooperation with specialists in other organizations; (10) cooperation with other school staff and organized responses; (11) undertaking coordination roles; (12) resuming normal running of treatment rooms; and (13) carrying out support activities based on their own experiences of the disaster. Yogo teachers were found to have resumed using treatment rooms at an early stage and conducted various health support activities. They wish to continue their health support efforts, making use of their own experiences of the earthquake disaster.

Conclusions

Early resumption of school functioning has played a key role in recovering the children's spirits and providing teachers and families with hope. Considering there is no sign of full recovery and problems with nuclear plants have not been resolved, is important to continue health support activities for children.