The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of foot massage as a nursing technique for alleviating the symptoms of elderly women with sensitivity to cold. This study used a quasi-experimental design, comparing two non-randomized groups ; 25 elderly women with sensitivity to cold and 27 healthy elderly women. The massaging method involved a 20-minute foot massage followed by 30 minutes of rest.
　The evaluation criteria were skin temperature, blood flow, heart rate variability, short form of the Profile of Mood States, and degree of warmth in the legs. The results of the study indicated that skin temperature and blood flow significantly increased after foot massage, while heart rate significantly decreased. In addition, blood pressure significantly decreased, high frequency (HF) significantly increased, and low- to high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) significantly decreased following right foot massage (P＜0.05). Moreover, the sensation of warmth in the legs significantly increased (P＜0.05), supporting the evaluations of skin temperature and blood flow which also significantly increased. These findings suggest that foot massage for elderly women with sensitivity to cold results in the same responses as those seen in healthy elderly individuals, and that it is effective as a nursing technique for alleviating the symptoms of elderly women with sensitivity to cold.

　The present study investigated the relationships among the posture and physical strain of wheelchair helpers, wheelchair locomotion, and the riding comfort of users to establish the desirable navigation indexes for lifting a wheelchair over steps.
　Eleven women in their 60s participating as helpers lifted an occupied wheelchair over eight different step heights ranging from 5 to 150 mm. The posture of the helper and both the helper's and user's subjective evaluation were assessed as the front and rear wheels of the wheelchair were lifted over the step. User's riding comfort was significantly related to the distance between the front or rear wheels and step entrance just before lifting and the peak height of the lifted front or rear wheels. The helper's physical strain was related to the peak height of the lifted rear wheels. The peak height of the lifted front and rear wheels increased and the user's riding comfort decreased as the helper's elbow angle increased. Furthermore, an increase in the axillary angle, which increased the peak height of the rear wheel, reduced the helper's physical strain, and increased the user's riding comfort. This study suggests that the helper's physical strain and user's riding comfort can be improved by adjusting both the front and rear wheel position before lifting and the posture of the helper when lifting a wheelchair.

　The aim of this study was to clarify the current state of personal hygiene, infection control, and perioperative care. The questionnaire that consisted of 46 items was distributed to 476 Japanese nurses and faculty who attended a seminar, in which researchers lectured about nursing practice from July to December in 2012. The response rate was 96% (458) and 82% (374) were valid. The respondents were registered nurses, assistant nurses, midwives, and faculty with nursing experience of less than five years to over 35 years.
　Compared to the 2001 survey, the ratio of nurses who use only a towel without soap for patients' hygiene has doubled. On the other hand, in 10 years, the divergence between clinical guidelines and practice, as well as the divergence of clinical practice and basic nursing education did not change. It is necessary to clarify the existence and importance of evidenced-based nursing skills, and to disseminate the research results.

　The validity of a flowchart for determining bowel movement conditions was investigated by using the degree of coincidence of classification factors based on newly collected data and bowel movement awareness, as well as bowel movement pattern classification. After using a flowchart to the classify 2-week bowel movement records of 38 healthy adults, a mixed group of adults with constipation and diarrhea were included in the “Constipation Class I” and adults with episodes of constipation and diarrhea within the 2-week period that could not be considered as “Normal” were included in “Normal Class I” The criteria were redefined after considering the percentages from each week. Based on the stool form, the “Diarrhea Class” was classified as adults with “shapeless, soft stool 1 out of 2 times, or more” and “the Mixed Class” was classified as adults with “soft stool 1 out of 2 times per week, or more. ” Flowchart 2 was created to classify the Observation-required Class as having “hard stool 1 out of 5 times, or more in the remaining week” and the “Constipation Class I and Constipation Class II” “Normal Class” as having hard stool “1 out of 5 times per week, or more” (stool form) and “7 days or fewer in 2 weeks” (number of days of bowel movements), respectively. A moderate degree of coincidence was observed between the bowel movement classification of revised version and bowel movement awareness.

　Aims : This research aimed to outline shifts in the amount of literature on anatomy and physiology studies in basic nursing education, and the present state of anatomy and physiology studies in nursing universities based on literature and syllabi ; as well as consider future issues in anatomy and physiology studies in basic nursing education.
　Method : Literature and syllabi were studied. A literature search was conducted by entering keywords into the ICHUSHI database for the period starting prior to 1982 until 2011, yielding 105 items of literature. A search of websites available as of 2011 garnered syllabi from 200 nursing universities, and a total of 199 universities from which syllabi could be collected were utilized. Data items collected were determined, such as “course titles corresponding to anatomy and physiology,” “teaching method frameworks,” and “job classification of the individual approving credits,” and content from literature and syllabi were collected based on those. The collected data was converted into a nominal scale for quantitative analysis, then statistical software was used to conduct simple totaling and diagram the data. A review was then conducted in accordance with the research aims.
　Results : The amount of literature tended to increase from 2007, but was unevenly distributed among certain authors. As for syllabi, although the course titles varied, the teachers of anatomy and physiology lectured separately, and 80% of universities taught using a framework that looks at the body by organ system. Five universities taught using another framework that looks at the body based on everyday activities, such as eating and using the toilet. Though education that understands the body three dimensionally is encouraged, the implementation of practical training in anatomy is only conducted at institutions such as schools of nursing in medical departments. Other nursing universities held short-term dissection due to a shortage of facilities.
　Given the above, there is a need for human resources capable of teaching integrated anatomy and physiology in general basic nursing education. Conducting enhanced classes in anatomical physiology requires improvements in institution settings. In addition, from a nursing perspective, increasing the number of papers on anatomy and physiology studies is suggested to be a step toward societal approval of the need for anatomy and physiology studies conducted by nursing instructors.

　This study identified the content and current trends of Japanese and international research on bed bath methods, research designs, measuring methods, and effects. We conducted our literature search based on the integrated literature review method defined by Cooper. Using the keywords “bed bath” to search Igaku Chuo Zasshi (ICHUSHI) -web (Japan's bibliographic database), CINAHL, and Pub Med, we analyzed 24 Japanese and 9 international reports. In Japan, healthy adults were typical participants to examine new bed bath methods. Overseas, the patient participated and they validated the effectiveness of bed baths compared to other hygiene. While cleanliness and stratum corneum water content were increased by bed bath, changes in skin surface temperature differed by method. In addition, bed baths were likely to mitigate patients' anxiety and discomfort. However, since the instruments and scales used for study measurements were different, the differences and subjective evaluations cannot be clarified for objective evaluation of bed bath methods.

　The present study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of shortening the consultation period for nurses to classify and judge the defecation situation of patients in a clinical setting based on a flow chart reported previously (Hosono et al. 2016). The possibility of shortening the former four-week consultation period to a two-week one was explored, with reference to the days when defecation occurred, stool frequency, stool hardness, and stool amount for 148 participants (aged 37.0±13.7 years).
　Continuous observation of the days when defecation occurred and stool frequency revealed that the average distribution in a one-week period was almost equivalent between the four-week and two-week consultation periods, with no significant difference between them. There was also no significant difference between the two consultation periods in terms of stool consistency (hard, normal, mud-like or watery), stool hardness, or stool size (more than a thumb head size, medium size or larger than a fist). These results suggest that it would be possible to shorten the consultation period from four to two weeks based on the flow chart.

　This study investigated the effects of short-term application of a hot towel to the skin during bed bathing on stratum corneum water content, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin surface temperature, and subjective evaluations of the elderly. We performed a crossover examination on seven elderly residents (mean age : 81.6±7.9) in a nursing home. The subjects were placed into groups based on the length of hot towel application against the skin (0,7, or 10 seconds) prior to performing a bed bath. We carried out bed bath in one side of the inner forearm. We compared the stratum corneum water content, TEWL, and subjective evaluations between the three groups. As a result, we recommend applying a hot towel to the skin for 7 or 10 seconds before wiping to increase skin surface temperature and provide warmth and comfort to the subject. In addition, it increases skin flexibility by the rise in the stratum corneum water content to protect the skin barrier function from friction stimuli.