A literature review was conducted to elucidate the status of research on the relationship between doctor-patient eye contact (EC) and clinically relevant outcomes and trends in this field. We assessed studies in PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Ichushi-Web (the Japan Medical Abstracts Society) that were published by January 2022. Search terms were “doctors or physicians,” “patients,” and “eye contact,” and ultimately, 20 studies were selected for review. To analyze these 20 studies, doctor-patient EC and clinically relevant outcomes were divided into 7 categories: EC and communication, EC and psychological state, EC and relationship building, EC and patient satisfaction, EC and anxiety reduction, EC and continuation therapy, and EC and health status perception. We found an association between EC and psychological state, but we did not reach a specific conclusion about EC and communication, EC and relationship building, and EC and patient satisfaction. These backgrounds may be influenced by research methods, such as the definition of EC and the calculation of agreement rates for discriminating EC, as well as differences in data collection methods for EC between doctors and patients, which is a fine eye movement. Future research is expected to consider the findings of previous studies as clues and research methods in order to determine information on the relationship between doctors’ EC and clinically relevant outcomes can be applied in clinical practice.

We conducted semi-structured interviews with young-old people who continued osteoporosis treatment for ≥1 year with the aim of clarifying factors associated with the continuation of osteoporosis treatment among the young-old. Participants were asked “How have you continued osteoporosis treatment until now?” and their responses were analyzed qualitatively and descriptively. Extracted factors associated with the continuation of osteoporosis treatment among young-old people were as follows : “recognizing osteoporosis-related problems as something that can affect one’s future,” “having a heightened awareness of fall prevention,” “devising treatment plans in one’s own way,” “having positive feelings toward osteoporosis treatment,” “having one’s own goals,” and “receiving support from surrounding people.” These results suggest that support that nurses can provide to help young-old people continue osteoporosis treatment include encouraging patients so that they feel more at ease in reaching out to nurses, supporting patients in a way that allows them to easily imagine complications and the influence of osteoporosis on daily life, and providing support, especially for those who have continued treatment for ≥6 months, to allow them to become aware of the effects of treatment.

To examine the actual circumstances of nursing from a home perspective provided by nurses at an Acute care hospital and related factors.

The questionnaire items included attributes, experience of discharge support and training, and information on patients after discharge. Furthermore,we used the “self-evaluation scale for the practice of ward nursing with a home perspective” to evaluate the actual circumstances of nursing. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that nursing from the perspective of home for older adult patients was contributed to “opportunity to obtain information on the post-discharge life of patients for whom they were in charge,” “experience in exchanging information with visiting nurses,” “gender,” “interviewing family members about their intentions regarding post-discharge life,” “experience in participating in case study meetings with community staff,” and “I have a friend or family member who is a visiting nurse.” It is important to create an environment in which ward nurses understand the wishes of patients and their families, particularly in coordinating effective care for older adult patients after discharge.

With the aim to identify the needs and structure of the nursing care that families of terminally ill patients wish from nurses to ensure that the patients can live their final days as they themselves wish, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five families of patients who passed away within the recent five years in general wards, and the transcribed interview data were analyzed with a qualitative synthesis method (KJ method). The analysis identified the following seven ‘elements’, and an affinity diagram was created by these : While standing next to the patients and observing the ‘appearance of terminally ill patients enduring the illness’, the families harbored ‘distrust of the medical care that prioritizes the convenience of the medical side over the deteriorating condition of the patients’ and ‘dissatisfaction and distrust of the nursing care and the attitudes of nurses toward the patients and their families’. Further, the analysis showed that ‘in the final days of the patients, their families cannot understand or accept the conditions of patient illnesses, and this makes the families mentally exhausted making it difficult to consent to medical procedures’. The findings show that the structure of the needs of families for the nursing care was formed by three elements : ‘a need for explanations to understand the condition of the patients’, ‘a need to respond to the patient wishes and improve the quality of life till the end of life’, and ‘a need for nursing assistance to consider the viewpoints of patients and their families’.

We examined the combined effects of providing high animal protein foods and exercise in twenty-seven elderly persons who required support or long-term care. These subjects took provided foods and exercised once or twice per week for 3 months, followed by exercise intervention alone for 3 months. To clarify the underlying mechanism of muscle mass gain for the combined effects of high animal protein foods intake and exercise intervention, we investigated the serum levels of biochemical parameters, bioactive secretory factors, and free amino acids (AAs) before and after the intervention. After providing high animal protein foods plus exercise, the serum concentrations of myostatin, which is produced and released by myocytes for negative feedback mechanisms, were significantly increased compared with that from before the intervention. Increased complement component 1q (C1q) with aging causes muscle atrophy and our results indicated that the serum levels of C1q were significantly lower after exercise intervention alone than that after food intake plus exercise intervention. The serum concentrations of free-AAs, especially essential amino acids (EAAs) after food intake plus exercise intervention were significantly higher than that before the intervention. AAs are potent stimulators of muscle protein synthesis and in part, the loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging may be due to an amount of protein intake that is less than optimal. Therefore, we assumed that the increased serum free-EAAs and AAs concentrations correlating with increased high animal protein food intake was partially related with the muscle mass gain. These findings suggest that the combination of providing sufficient animal protein foods and exercise can increase muscle mass, following improvement the serum concentrations of free EAAs in the cared elderly people.

Catastrophic changes in living environments due to disasters interfere with diabetes self-care. This study aimed to develop a diabetes self-care inhibition scale for disasters (DSID). Participants were 195 patients with type 2 diabetes (143 males and 52 females ; mean age＝63.34±12.01 years, HbA1c＝7.09±0.93%), who experienced the Kumamoto earthquake. The items of DSID were based on interview for 17 diabetic patients affected by the Kumamoto earthquake. The items were consisted of 10 items from four categories (“carbohydrate-centered diet,” “not carrying diabetes medication,” “lack of self-care,” and “hyperglycemic state”) and 2 items for risk appraisal about worsening of the disease. Three factors were extracted by factor analysis : giving up self-care, worsening of meals, and concern about worsening diabetes in the future. Since the alpha coefficients for these factors were greater than 0.806, high internal consistencies were confirmed.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether a gerontological nursing program can lower ageism among nursing students and increase their awareness surrounding restraint use. First-year and third-year students were asked to complete the Japanese version of the Fraboni Scale of Ageism (J-FSA) and the Japanese version of Perceptions of Restraint Use Questionnaire (J-PRUQ). Fifty-seven valid responses were analyzed. Undergraduate nursing students who completed the gerontological nursing program at the University exhibited significantly lower ageism and improved perceptions on restraint use. One reason for this may have been the improved relationships with older patients, as they had learned from their patients in the gerontological nursing practicums.

Flexing the hip and knee joints is recommended in assisted hair washing using a Kelly pad in the supine position on the bed. However, the most comfortable position for hospitalized patients who receive hair washing assistance is unclear, especially those with cardiovascular disease who are forced to rest in bed after hospitalization. Two elderly female patients hospitalized for cardiovascular diseases were examined to determine the comfortable position when they received hair washing assistance using a Kelly pad in the supine position on the bed with the knee joint flexed or extended, using the angle of hip and knee joint flexion during hair washing and the subjective assessment of muscle tension, sense of stability and sense of security using the visual analog scale (VAS) as indices. It was found that 1) the hip and knee joint flexion angles in the hair washing position that the patients with cardiovascular disease were comfortable with was about 21 degrees and 30-41 degrees, respectively, 2) the VAS value for “tension” was lower and the VAS value for sense of stability and sense of security was higher in washing hair with knees flexed compared to the washing with knees extended in both subjects, and 3) both subjects had a VAS value of 0 and 100 for “thigh and lower leg muscle tension” and “sense of stability” in the washing hair with knees flexed, respectively. Thus, washing hair in a position where the hip and knee joints are flexed, even gently, may lead to psychological comfort for elderly female patients with cardiovascular disease at bed rest, particularly, a decrease in muscle tension and an increase in the sense of stability.

We aimed to clarify the current status and challenges of patient association activities in collagen disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online group interviews were conducted with 4 trustees of a patient association in May 2021, and the obtained data were qualitatively and descriptively analyzed. As the results, the trustees proceeded with the activities of the patient association based on [the enjoyment of performing activities with peers found through participating in the patient association] as the driving force, but they also realized [changes in methods to connect patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent challenges], such as difficulties in holding face-to-face meetup events and promoting online communication. While feeling that the number of new members is decreasing after the discontinuation of some business projects, and developing 〈a sense of burdensomeness and anxiety about the trustee activities〉 taken over from aging trustees, they noted the necessity of considering appropriate methods to disseminate information to each generation, and reducing the burdens on trustees by reviewing operations as [challenges of trustee activities under the COVID-19 situation and sustainable patients association activities]. The results suggest the necessity of supporting patient associations through collaboration with their trustees to resolve the challenges of their activities that emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a basis for developing interventions applying websites and social networking services (SNSs) to promote eHealth literacy (eHL) among college students with a high Internet usage rate and health education approaches for future generations to lead a healthy life in society, a questionnaire survey on eHL and SNSs was conducted involving 242 nursing college students, and the association between the 2 items was analyzed. The eHL was scored using the Japanese-version eHealth Literacy Scale, and SNS usage was examined while asking the degree of importance of each service perceived by the students on a 10-point scale for scoring. Valid responses were obtained from 108 students (valid response rate: 44.6%). The number of users of each SNS was as follows: LINE: 106 (98.1%), Twitter: 78 (72.2%), and Instagram: 87 (80.6%). When focusing on the 87 Instagram users, the number of those with a score for the degree of importance of this service higher than the overall median was 36 (80.0%) among 45 with an eHL score higher than the median (high-eHL group), which was significantly (p=0.012) higher than the 23 (54.8%) among 42 with an eHL score lower than the median (low-eHL group). The number of those obtaining health information using Instagram was 20 (44.4%) among the 45 of the high-eHL group, which was significantly (p=0.020) higher than the 9 (21.4%) among the 42 of the low-eHL group. In order to foster eHL through SNS usage, it may be important to encourage users to make use of these services as tools to obtain health information, rather than utilizing them only for fun such as socializing with friends.

This study aimed to clarify the factors related to awareness of health conditions among unemployed mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children. An anonymous self-reported questionnaire survey was conducted with 950 mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children. A total of 608 respondents returned valid responses (recovery rate 64.1%), and of these, the 358 respondents who answered that they were unemployed were analyzed. The mean age of respondents was 33.6±5.0 years, and 87.4% were living in nuclear families. Approximately 70% of mothers were rearing 0- to 1-year-old children, and 51.7% were rearing their first child. As for awareness of health conditions among mothers, 53.9% indicated they were “healthy” and 46.1% indicated they were “unhealthy”, with the most common subjective symptoms being tiredness, followed by stiff shoulders and low back pain. A 74.6% majority of mothers did not have the opportunity to have a health checkup and 59.8% did not know about health services available in their residential area. The results of logistic regression analysis showed relationships between health conditions and the following items : “worries about health conditions” (odds ratio [OR] 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.23-0.61), “consultation” (OR 3.04, 95%CI 1.56-5.92), and “health literacy” (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08). The findings suggest that when developing health supports for unemployed mothers rearing pre-kindergarten children, it is necessary to consider contents aimed at promoting consulting behavior and improving health literacy.

To clarify the perceptions and issues in principals of nursery school regarding the communication with handicapped children and their parents by nursery school teachers and the cooperation between nursery schools and related organizations, a semi-structured interview survey was conducted with one principal of nursery school. The contents of the interviews were summarized into the following 5 categories by qualitative inductive analysis : Understanding parents’ acceptance of disabilities and provide the best childcare service ; Provide childcare as a continuous support without procrastination while observing the reactions from children ; Difficulties of safety management and watching over the growth ; inclusive childcare from conflicts and sufferings ; Sound childcare management aiming at quality improvement and career advancement of childcare workers.

The movement of four institutionalized elderly people while transferring themselves from a wheelchair to a bed was recorded with a video camera and observed in five separate phases to identify motion characteristics and how to use welfare equipment observed when elderly people requiring long-term care transfer themselves. The time required to make the transfer was measured from the video data. Health status information and history of falls of the subjects were collected from their records. The mean age of the subjects was 90.5 years (range 82 to 96 years), and two subjects had a history of falls (twice and seven times). As for the transfer movement, three subjects simultaneously performed two of these three phases : standing up phase, turning phase, and sitting down phase. Some redid the lift-off, turned while their trunks were tilted forward, and trembled during turning. There was a difference in supporting objects such as grab bars, the timing of using them, and the frequency of repositioning the feet during the turning phase. The total time for the transfer movement was between 7.9 and 14.1 seconds, and the time required to complete the standing up, turning, and sitting down phases accounted for 44% to 72% of the total time for five separate phases. The subject who had fallen seven times had the shortest total time, and the percentage of the standing up, turning and sitting down phases accounted for 49%. Transfer movements and the time required varied depending on the elderly individual, leading us to believe that it might serve as a clue in evaluating fall risk.

To efficiently utilize welfare facilities, it is necessary for long-term care students (LCS) to gain a comprehensive overview of “group homes.” In this study, a questionnaire survey on “group homes” was conducted for long-term care students (LCS─first and second grade) at college. First, a comprehension survey was conducted using a pre-test carried out by pharmacy students (PS). After screening a test-linked video lecture, a post-test was conducted. Based on the pre- and post-analyses, the degree of understanding was evaluated. As a result of the questionnaire survey, many LCS recognized the importance of group homes in the first-half semester lessons in the first grade. The LCS improved their numerical understanding for one (47.6 points) to (55.6 points）two years, by studying and gaining hands-on experience in the first-half semester lessons in the first grade, and learning in the second-half semester lessons in the first grade and the second grade lessons. However, both grades did not show a high level of comprehension (70.0 points or higher). The correct answer rate of each question (70.0% or more, except question 9, and 80.0% or more, respectively) and average score (84.1 points and 94.7 points, respectively) in the post-test following the lecture for first and second graders showed a significant increase compared to the pre-test, indicating a high degree of understanding. From the above results, it was observed that the test-linked video lectures could be effectively used in supplementary teaching materials of class for LCS as well as PC.