Objectives: To determine the relationship between the actual response of inexperienced public health nurses to corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and their health-related quality of life and job satisfaction.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was conducted with 44 first to third-year inexperienced public health nurses.

Questions included their attributes, response to COVID-19, health-related quality of life (HRQOL)(SF-8), and job satisfaction (VAS). The relationship between basic attributes, response to COVID-19, and HRQOL and job satisfaction was analyzed.

Results: There were 27 valid responses (61.4%). With respect to COVID-19 responses, 66.7% of the respondents reported "consultation services" and "infection prevention," 29.6% reported "epidemiological survey," and 22.2% reported "dealing with infected persons." In peak periods compared to normal periods, a higher percentage of respondents came home and had dinner later, worked more overtime, had more holidays per month, and slept less.

Physical component summary in HRQOL was significantly different in terms of age, years of employment as a public health nurse, and whether they had experienced problems in dealing with the situation, while Mental component summary in HRQOL was significantly different in terms of their primary responsibilities (p <0.05). Job satisfaction differed significantly (p <0.05) by the presence of family members living together, affiliation, primary responsibility, and whether the patient had experience in handling epidemiological surveys.

Discussions: We found that inexperienced public health nurses had a physically and mentally taxing life at the peak of their response to COVID-19, which affected their own quality of life and job satisfaction.

Abstract:

Objectives:

In view of the aging of the Japanese workforce, promoting occupational health activities to reduce health risks among workers is essential. This retrospective cohort study evaluated and analyzed PHC Corporation's proactive follow-up activities after regular health check-ups.

Methods:

The study examined changes after two years in blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid levels among PHC employees. It compared proactive follow-ups in districts where an occupational health physician conducted interviews based on standard values for work restriction with those implemented in districts with conventional follow-ups, where an occupational health physician made judgement based on their original perspective.

Results:

In comparison with districts implementing conventional follow-up measures, those with advanced follow-up were significantly associated with improvements in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels from 2017 to 2019. No significant changes were observed in HbA1c levels.

Conclusions:

Implementing proactive interventions based on work restriction criteria improved health markers, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol levels. Further analysis of the ongoing results and the accumulation of evidence from other companies will be crucial for future research.