Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of a non-face-to-face self-massage program for the pelvic floor muscles on subjective incontinence outcomes in adult women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and determine necessary improvements from semi-structured individual interviews for developing a simpler and adhered SUI prevention program.

Methods: We conducted the experiment with an embedded mixed-methods intervention design in September 2022. Subjects were recruited from users of social networking services (Facebook, Instagram). 40 adult women with SUI (quantitative survey; 40 participants, qualitative survey; 32 participants) implemented a 12-week self-massage, at least once daily for ≥5 days weekly, following a 2-week control period. The International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), the primary outcome measure, was administered upon starting the control period, at baseline, and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of intervention. The intervention’s accuracy, material content, and expression, including the appropriateness of the used devices, were evaluated through interviews conducted at weeks 1, 6, and 12.

Results: With repeated ANOVA measures, the main effect was found in ICIQ-SF scores. Multiple comparisons revealed that the ICIQ-SF scores at 4, 8, and 12 weeks of post-intervention were significantly lower than that at baseline. The interviews identified issues with the instruction manual, size of the ball used, and support methods.

Conclusion: A 12-week self-massage program for the pelvic floor muscles demonstrated potential benefits in reducing subjective symptoms of SUI. However, the balls and provided materials should be improved to further enhance the effects.

Objective: Individuals with a high Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) tendency often experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships, such as difficulty in identifying the feelings of others, considering others, and understanding implicit rules. This study aimed to develop a training program designed to improve social and communication skills based on BAP levels.

Methods: Pre-post evaluation design study was conducted. The four-week program, which included a card game for speaking and listening, gesture games, comics for completing stories, and self-disclosure among participants was developed and administered to 22 female students from the first and second grades of two nursing universities. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted before and after the program, using a Japanese version of the BAP questionnaire. The Kikuchi’s Scale of Social Skills (KiSS-18) and Scale of Communication Skills (ENDCOREs) were also used. The participants were divided into two groups based on BAP tendency (high and low groups).

Results: Following the program, scores for skills in replacing attacks, a KiSS-18 subscale; and scores for skills in accepting others (an ENDCOREs subscale), significantly increased in the low BAP tendency group. Total KiSS-18 scores, scores for skills in replacing attacks, expression, and self-assertion, (i.e., ENDCOREs subscales), significantly increased in the high BAP tendency group.

Conclusions: The program improved social and communication skills in both groups, with greater improvement observed in the high BAP tendency group.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using information and communications technology (ICT) for counseling in order to enable effective implementation of specific health guidance through ICT.

Methods: Web-based and interview surveys were conducted from August to September 2022 among dietitians who had contracted with outsourcing company A, a contractor of specific health guidance, and had conducted first counseling sessions both face-to-face and through ICT. The survey items included attributes, advantages, and disadvantages of ICT-based counseling. The web-based survey inquired about the advantages and disadvantages of the open-ended format. The advantages and disadvantages of ICT-based counseling were extracted from the open-ended responses and verbatim transcripts of the interviews and were coded and categorized.

Results: The web and interview surveys were completed by 78 and 6 respondents, respectively. We identified 495 codes as advantages of ICT-based counseling, and divided them into the following categories: convenience, ease of counseling, sharing and managing materials, ease of teaching, infectious disease-related, and learning and experience. Next, 484 codes were extracted as disadvantages and organized into the following categories: physical barriers to ICT use, cognitive barriers to ICT use, communication, difficulty in teaching, materials and tools, environment setting, and time coordination.

Conclusion: ICT-based counseling has both advantages and disadvantages. To implement more efficient and effective specific health guidance, it is necessary to use both ICT and face-to-face counseling according to the subjects and environment.

Objective: To determine the factors related to middle school students adjusting the amount of food consumed before school lunches.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 973 junior high school first graders at five public junior high schools in Kumamoto City, Japan. Of these, 659 valid responses were analyzed. Data on basic demographic information, height, weight, food waste during lunchtime, adjustment of the amount of food (staple food and side dishes) consumed before eating school lunch, and anxiety factors before school lunch were collected. We conducted a logistic regression analysis, adjusting the amount of food consumed before eating school lunch as the dependent variable and anxiety factors before school lunch as the independent variables.

Results: Anxiety about not having enough time to eat school lunch was associated with adjusting the amount of food consumed before eating lunch (odds ratio [95% confidence interval], staple food: males: 2.49 [1.34, 4.62], females: 2.39 [1.41, 4.06], and side dishes females: 2.31 [1.37, 3.88]). Anxiety about eating the entire school lunch causing stomachaches was associated with adjusting the amount before eating (staple food: males: 5.89 [2.29, 15.10], females: 4.15 [1.85, 9.30], side dishes: males: 4.43 [1.67, 11.74], females: 3.44 [1.59, 7.51]).

Conclusion: The results suggest that students who are anxious about the time of eating and their physical condition after eating adjusted the amount of food they ate before eating their school lunch.

Objective: In Higashidori, Aomori Prefecture, a project combining health guidance using health checkups and environmental improvements in dietary habits, was initiated to reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake. This report focuses on the process evaluation of dietary environment improvement aimed at enhancing information accessibility within a supermarket and shopping bus operated by the supermarket as a means of getting to the supermarket. This study aimed to discuss the feasibility and effectiveness of these interventions.

Field activity: The Food Environment Improvement Initiative began in November 2021 and involves the creation and placement of low-sodium recipe cards and information labels in the supermarket and shopping bus. Information labels were placed on shelves in the supermarket displaying low-sodium foods, milk, and dairy products. Information labels were also placed on the shopping bus to communicate tips to reduce salt and increase potassium intake. Questionnaire surveys were conducted on shopping bus commuters in November 2021 (pre-survey) and March 2022 (post-survey).

Assessments: In the post-survey conducted after the information labels and recipe cards were placed, approximately 30% of respondents reported having “often seen” or “occasionally seen” the information labels on supermarket shelves, whereas about 60% reported the same for the information labels in the shopping bus. Regarding the usage of the low-sodium recipe cards, approximately 20% of respondents indicated they had “made almost all,” “made more than half,” or “made some” of the recipes.

Conclusion: The results suggest that shopping buses are a potentially more effective way to provide information to commuters than supermarkets.

Objective: The Japanese Society of Health Education and Promotion-Young Division hosted the 2023 annual study seminar, focusing on “learning how to use health communication for populations indifferent to health.” This report summarizes the seminar proceedings.

Contents: The seminar was delivered online, and involved 25 participants. After the participants had shared their impressions of populations indifferent to health at the beginning of the seminar, Dr. Hirono Ishikawa delivered a lecture on the characteristics of such populations and health communication strategies. Drawing on this lecture, the participants engaged in group discussions and presentations, brainstorming ways to employ health communication strategies for populations indifferent to health. Post-seminar questionnaire responses indicated overall satisfaction among participants, with most of them expressing deeper understanding of the theme of the seminar and newfound insights into supporting populations indifferent to health. In addition, the questionnaire highlighted potential improvement for future seminars, including considerations regarding the duration and contents of lectures, duration and composition for group works, seminar formats, and announcements.

Recommendations for future seminars: To make seminars more useful to young researchers and practitioners, four aspects should be considered: the most ideal durations for lectures and group works, clear announcements about detailed seminar contents, effective group work content, and alignment of assignments with participants’ knowledge and experience levels.

This paper aims to provide beginning students with a basic understanding of the processes involved in conducting systematic reviews. A systematic review is a form of secondary study that aims to comprehensively collect, evaluate, and synthesize the findings of primary research. Compared with narrative reviews, which are based on the researcher’s personal knowledge and experience, systematic reviews follow a clear methodological approach to the collection, selection, extraction, and evaluation of primary information. Highly ranked in the hierarchy of evidence, systematic reviews serve as crucial tools for researchers to objectively assess the current state and prospects of their research. A systematic review involves several key steps including formulating research questions, selecting databases, devising a search strategy, establishing inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracting and managing data, evaluating article quality, and registering protocols. In addition to contributing to article writing, systematic reviews are instrumental in advancing research and informing policymaking. This journal eagerly invites submissions of systematic reviews.