The purpose of this study was to identify changes in prevalence of depression and related factors among community-dwelling older adults during COVID-19 pandemic. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted five times from November 2020 to December 2022 among registered members of the Silver Human Resource Center in city A, Osaka Prefecture. The survey included basic attributes, one’s subjective sense of health, the technology agency index of competence (JST), depression, and living conditions. Depression was assessed using the 15-item Japanese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale, A score of 5 or more indicated depression. The 170 participants who responded to all five surveys were included in the analysis. Analyses were conducted using a logistic model to adjust for multifactorial effects, and odds ratios (ORs) for the presence or absence of depression were calculated. The percentage of people with depression in the five surveys ranged from 27.1% to 32.9%. Further, depression was associated with an awareness of the economic situation and JST in the four surveys.

Concern about the economic situation elevated the OR for depression (OR＝2.18-4.47), whereas the OR decreased with elevation in the JST elevation (OR＝0.12-0.37). Life changes due to COVID-19 were confirmed at the baseline and fourth follow-up surveys. At baseline, a perceived decreased frequency for going out (OR＝2.48) and decreased motivation to go out (OR＝4.65) indicated a higher OR for depression. At the fourth follow-up, changes in the way participants interacted with people (OR＝3.38) and difficulties in life (OR＝5.99) had a higher OR for depression, while those with a job (OR＝0.22) had a lower OR for depression. Depression associated with COVID-19 infections may change from time to time, and support needs to be tailored to social and individual situations.

This study aimed to identify the relationship between support by on-site nursing instructors and burnout as perceived by novice nurses working in hospitals in the metropolitan area of Japan. An anonymous, self-rated questionnaire survey was administered to 765 novice nurses working in university hospitals and national hospitals in the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan. The questionnaire included question items from the Japanese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and a support assessment scale for on-site nursing instructors as perceived by the novice nurses, as well as questions about personal and workplace environment factors. A multiple regression analysis was conducted using the mean burnout score as the objective variable. There were 539 valid responses (70.5%), and the mean total burnout score was 13.51±2.42. The multiple regression analysis showed that the lower the total score in the support assessment scale for on-site nursing instructors is, the more likely it is that the novice nurses will develop burnout. It is necessary to improve the communication skills of novice nurses to be able to inform of conditions and situations to their on-site nursing instructors and to seek necessary support, as well as develop measures to create an environment where novice nurses can easily seek necessary support.

This study conducted a questionnaire survey with 712 nurses working in the intensive care units (ICU nurses) of 21 university hospitals nationwide in Japan, who expressed consent in study participation, to understand career maturity of these nurses and to identify factors affecting their career maturity. In total 217 responses (30.5%) were collected, and excluding responses from nursing managers (head nurse, deputy head nurse, chief) and those who did not complete the section of the Nurse Career Maturity Scale, the remaining 193 (97.5%) were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multivariate analysis (multiple regression analysis) were conducted using career maturity as the objective variable. The explanatory variables included personal factors, workplace environment factors, nursing perspectives, factors related to interaction with others, self-evaluation, and factors related to self-growth and problem solving. Multiple regression analysis showed that the adjusted coefficient of determination in this model was R2＝0.561. The analysis identified the following five factors related to career maturity: career commitment, occupational identity of nurses, actively and willingly participating in clinical ladder (skill development) training, making efforts to improve their own shortcomings, and always wishing to learn new knowledge and skills. These results suggest that it is important for ICU nurses working in university hospitals to improve career maturity. Through this process, increasing their interest and enthusiasm to acquire the expertise necessary for ICU nurses as improving the career commitment is important to develop career maturity.

The life and interpersonal skills of nursing students have declined due, in part, to the widespread use of smartphones and changes in family structure in recent years. As a response to this support for student learning is needed in nursing education to encourage the acquisition of appropriate lifestyle habits and improve interpersonal skills in parallel with the advancement of nursing technology education. Therefore, it is vital to assess nursing students’ societal skills, which are evaluated through their activities and participation based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. We previously confirmed both the reliability and validity of the Activity Functioning Scale for Nursing Students to this end.

The aim of this study was to elucidate the activity scores of nursing students using the aforementioned scale. This tool measures an individual’s ability to carry out a task or action from a positive aspect. A survey was administered to nursing students and non-nursing students from November 2013 to July 2014. The questionnaire included items on demographic information, such as age, and the Activity Functioning Scale for Nursing Students. The mean activity score of nursing students was found to be 37.8±6.5 points. There was a statistically significant difference in activity scores between nursing students and non-nursing students. In addition, there was a significant difference in activity scores between nursing students who were living with their grandmothers and those who were not.

Peer support activities are one of the pressing issues in building a Community-based Integrated Care System that responds to the needs of mentally disabled people. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the research perspectives of studies on peer support activities conducted in multiple fields. A matrix analysis was performed on the data of 122 original articles extracted with the keyword “peer support.” The results revealed that the studies on peer support activities were based on the following perspectives: “the experience and perceptions of the mentally disabled people and their family members,” “individual support for the mentally disabled people and their family members,” “management and assessment of the support programs,” and “skills of the support providers.” In addition to reporting the methods of the research on peer support activities for mentally disabled people, there is a need to expand research to include the organizational implementation structures of peer support activities for mentally disabled people, such as the organizational responses of local offices concerning peer support activities and the nature of collaboration between the community and facilities concerning peer support activities.

In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis to explore the ethical and unethical behavior exhibited by hospital nurses. We gathered 16 relevant pieces of literature by conducting searches on Ichushi Web and CiNii, using the keywords "ethical behavior" and "nursing profession" or "nurse."

From this collection, we extracted and categorized literature that discussed both "ethical behavior" and "unethical behavior," focusing on identifying similarities and differences related to ethical principles. From the selected literature, we identified 105 codes related to ethical behavior among nurses working in hospitals, which were further aggregated into 25 subcategories, 15 categories, and 9 major categories. Additionally, we identified 88 codes related to unethical behavior, which grouped into 22 subcategories, 11 categories, and 6 major categories. The ethical behavior of ward nurses was broadly classified based on the principles of beneficence and harmlessness, autonomy, fidelity, and justice. It encompassed behavior such as understanding of the target, collaborating with other professions, and demonstrating a professional belief.

On the other hand, unethical behavior, which deviated from ethical principles, fell into categories such as non-compliance with the principles of beneficence and harmlessness, autonomy, fidelity, justice, and a lack of professionalism.

A qualitative inductive analysis of 16 literatures was conducted to clarify the support received and issues encountered at serviced housing for older adults in Japan as a setting for end-of-life care. Four support categories were revealed as follows: “support for residents’ independence in activities of daily living,” “support for residents’ social participation and building a purpose in life,” “advanced care planning with a visiting nurse,” and “collaboration between the medical and caregiving fields for residents’ end-of-life hospice care.” In addition, the following five issues were identified: “clarification of policies for facility-based end-of-life hospice care,” “advanced care planning led by the housing facility,” “establishment of a system for collaboration between the medical and caregiving fields at the serviced housing,” “death education and medical education for the serviced housing staff,” and “practical use of equipment to supplement manpower.” In the future, it will be necessary to interview staff members of serviced housing for older adults to identify the specific approaches currently being taken in the field.

Individual interviews using an interview guide were conducted with four home care nurses with the aim of clarifying the support provided by home care nurses to the parents of those with severe motor and intellectual disabilities(SMID) before their ability to care for their children declines. The statements were analyzed verbatim and, using qualitative data analysis methods, five categories were extracted.

The categories are as follows "anxious thoughts of seriously ill children/persons and their parents," "ability to cooperate with professionals and institutions," "utilization of community resources," "issues associated with changes in society and the times," and "life history of seriously ill children/persons and their families "

Home care nurses need to capture the anxious thoughts of SMID and their parents, and to be involved with SMID and their families to have the ability to connect with necessary professionals and institutions due to unstable cooperation with consultation support specialists and public health nurses. It is also necessary to devise ways to enable SMID to live socially in the community autonomously through the use of local resources and to promote mutual cooperation between nurses. Furthermore,home care nurses need to confront challenges in line with changes in society and the times and grasp the life history of SMID and their families and maintain closeness with them so that their life after the death of their parents can be what they want it to be.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 living support coordinators (LSCs) and analyzed qualitatively and inductively in order to clarify the support provided by LSCs to enhance the independence and mutual help capability of the older residents in the establishment of community-based activities, “Kayoino-ba”. In the establishment of older residents-led community-based activities, “Kayoino-ba”, LSCs deepened their [understanding of residents’ characteristics] and [understanding of residents’ relationships] while directly interacting with older residents, grasped the current situation of residents’ independence and of mutual help capability, and determined the support policy for the establishment of such activities. Furthermore, in order to increase the independence of the older residents, the following support was provided: [building a relationship of trust with the residents], [communicating the local situation to the residents], [respecting the opinions of the residents], [building a consensus for the establishment], [providing support for building a management system] and [fostering the independence of residents]. In order to enhance the mutual help capability of older residents, they provided support for [creating caring friends], [creating a system to support each other], and [monitoring with an eye toward promoting mutual help]. The LSCs draw out independence through support for an empowerment process based on the characteristics of the residents in the establishment of community-based activities, “Kayoino-ba”, and build a foundation for mutual help capability in accordance with the relationship between residents. Furthermore, it was suggested that support by LSCs enhancing older residents’ mutual help capability also has a view toward the expansion of mutual help in the community.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the difficulties faced by experienced psychiatric nurses and their coping processes when caring for patients with persistent depressive disorders. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven skilled nurses with more than ten years of psychiatric clinical experience. As a result of analysis using a modified grounded theory approach, eleven concepts, four categories, and one core category were generated.

Regarding the difficulties of psychiatric nurses who have experience in nursing practice with patients who have persistent depressive disorders and how to cope with them, the following concepts were raised: “Difficulty in communicating here and now”, “Difficulty in self-care support according to wishes of patients”, “Difficulty of care that cannot be seen now and in the future”, “Suffering from not being able to be close to feelings of patients”, “Suffering from not knowing whether it is useful”, “Frustration over long absence of change”, “Supported by past experiences”, “Keep an eye on small changes”, “Intentionally keep a distance to be close to each other”, “Continue to be involved without seeing changes”, and “Keep holding on to beliefs while hesitating”. Then, four categories were extracted: “Difficulty in nursing intervention”, “Fluctuations as a psychiatric nurse”, “Searching for what I can do”, and “Continuing to hold beliefs while wavering”. The core category was judged to be “Continuing nursing with belief while facing difficulties” from the latter 2 categories.

The results suggest 1) that in providing nursing care to patients with persistent depressive disorders, clinical knowledge is nurtured through the provision of mental health support for psychiatric nurses who experience difficulties and through educational support in teaching core values in nursing, and 2) that effective nursing intervention can be continued.

We investigated the relationship between the onset of iron deficiency anemia and bone turnover in weanling rats using markers of bone formation and resorption. Three-week-old male Wistar rats were divided into three groups of 24 rats each. The rats in two of the three groups were given free access to either a control diet (C group) or an iron-deficient diet (D group). Rats in another group (PF group) were pair-fed a control diet with rats in the D group. Six rats from each group were euthanized weekly. Compared with the C and PF groups, hemoglobin and liver iron concentrations were significantly lower in the D group at weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4, and heart weight was significantly higher in the D group at weeks 2, 3, and 4. Serum osteocalcin concentration, urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion, and femur bone mineral density were significantly lower in the D group than in the C and PF groups at weeks 3 and 4. These results suggest that changes in bone formation and resorption may appear later than the onset of iron deficiency anemia in weanling rats.