Atsuko Taguchi

Exploring nursing education in The People's Republic of China, Japan and Turkey

Abstract The global nursing shortage has caused competition and cooperation between countries desperate for registered nurses (RNs), and has led to an increase in migration and international recruitment of nurses. Some nursing diplomas or degrees earned in one country may not be transferable to another. As a result, there is growing interest in common standards and competencies of entry-level nurses to guide future registered nurse agreements between countries or multicountry licensure programs. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate how entry-level nurses are educated throughout the world. The researchers sent a nursing education questionnaire to nurse educators in eleven countries inviting them to participate in the study. Nurse educators from The Peoples Republic of China, Japan and Turkey were the first to agree to participate in the study. They responded to questions about their countrys nursing history, types of nursing programs, use of national nursing licensing examination, and social and political influences on nursing education. The nurse researchers did an analysis and comparison of the nursing education in each country.

The Relationships Between Feelings of Satisfaction and Burden With Respect to Activity and Social Support Among Health Promotion Volunteers in Japan

Health promotion volunteers (HPVs) working to promote community health in Japan feel both satisfaction and burden with their community engagement activities. This study examined the relationship between their satisfaction and burden toward their activities and social support. A mail-in self-check questionnaire survey was distributed to 604 HPVs in Japan in September 2005. Multiple regression analysis showed that high “activity attachment” was associated with more support from family, colleagues, and public health nurses; high “personal benefit” was associated with more support from colleagues and public health nurses. It was also found that low “burden on everyday life” was associated with more support from family and colleagues and that low “psychological burden” was associated with more support from colleagues and community members. It became clear that social support from various sources was positively related to HPVs’ satisfaction and negatively related to HPVs’ burden with their activities. To encourage HPV activities, it is important to consider what kinds of social support would be most useful to increase the satisfaction and reduce the burden felt by HPVs.

Individual and organizational factors related to work engagement among home-visiting nurses in Japan

AIM The increasing number of elderly people has caused increased demand for home-visiting nurses. Nursing managers should develop healthy workplaces in order to grow their workforce. This study investigated the work engagement of home-visiting nurses as an index of workplace health. The aim of the present study was to reveal factors contributing to work engagement among Japanese home-visiting nurses. METHODS An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was sent to 208 home-visiting nurses from 28 nursing agencies in three districts; 177 (85.1%) returned the questionnaires. The Job Demands-Resources model, which explains the relationship between work environment and employee well-being, was used as a conceptual guide. The authors employed three survey instruments: (i) questions on individual variables; (ii) questions on organizational variables; and (iii) the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Japanese version). Multiple regression analyses were performed in order to examine the relationships between individual variables, organizational variables, and work engagement. RESULTS Nurse managers and nurses who felt that there was a positive relationship between work and family had significantly higher work engagement levels than others. The support of a supervisor was significantly associated with work engagement. Nurses in middle-sized but not large agencies had significantly higher work engagement than nurses in small agencies. CONCLUSION Supervisor support and an appropriate number of people reporting to each supervisor are important factors in fostering work engagement among home-visiting nurses.

Exploring the ideal combination of activity satisfaction and burden among health promotion volunteers: a cross-sectional study in Japan

BackgroundHealth promotion volunteers (HPVs) who are expected to function as leaders in promoting community health in Japan feel both satisfaction and burden associated with their community engagement activities. The purposes of this study were 1) to describe the prevalence of volunteers with differing levels of activity satisfaction and burden; 2) to examine the association between satisfaction and burden with activity involvement and persistence, and life satisfaction; and 3) to explore associated factors by satisfaction/burden levels among Japanese HPVs. The research question for this study was as follows: What is the relationship between activity satisfaction and burden among HPV?MethodsA mail-in self-administered questionnaire survey was distributed to 604 HPVs in the cities of Konan and Koka, Shiga Prefecture, central Japan, in September 2005. Questions encompassed demographic data, variables regarding HPV activity such as organizational environment, social support, and the relationship with the neighborhood association, and overall satisfaction and burden related to the activity.ResultsThe analyzed sample comprised 422 HPVs. Those with high satisfaction/low burden represented the largest number of study participants (group A; 38.4%). HPVs with high satisfaction/high burden (group B), low satisfaction/low burden (group C), and low satisfaction/high burden (group D) represented 23.0%, 11.1%, and 27.5% of participants, respectively. HPVs in groups A and B reported a greater total number of activities undertaken than those in group C. However, HPVs in group A had higher life satisfaction than those in groups C and D. Multinomial logistic regression analysis used to explore group differences showed that HPVs in group B had lower initial motivation and received less social support from colleagues, and those in group C felt the head of the neighborhood association was uncooperative. Those in group D had lower initial motivation, rated their organizational climate as worse, and considered the head of the neighborhood association uncooperative compared with group A.ConclusionsWe found that feeling satisfied and lightly burdened facilitated HPVs’ active participation in community-based activities. Findings suggest the importance of improving activity environments surrounding HPVs.

Is sekentei associated with attitudes toward use of care services?: Multilevel analysis in Japan

Aim:  To examine the relationship between individual and regional levels of sekentei and attitudes toward care services in the general Japanese population.

Differences in psychosocial factors among novice, experienced, and veteran health promotion volunteers in Japan.

OBJECTIVE To examine differences in psychosocial factors among health promotion volunteers (HPVs) according to years of experience. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE A total of 604 HPVs in Koka and Konan cities in Japan in 2005. MEASUREMENTS Demographic data, extent of HPV activity (such as years of HPV experience), and psychosocial factors such as overall activity satisfaction, burden of HPV activities, and social support. RESULTS Compared with HPVs with 1-3 years of experience, those with 4-8 years of experience indicated that the head of the neighborhood association failed to recognize their role and lacked knowledge of HPV activity content, but that they felt greater support from community members. Those with 9 or more years of experience had more managerial experience, were more highly motivated at the end of the HPV training course, and indicated greater support from community members than those with 1-3 years of experience. CONCLUSIONS When considering the constellation of HPV activities; the ways in which these activities are performed; and the strategies to recruit, train, support, and retain HPVs; it may be important to take into account the differences among HPVs by years of experience.

Effects of Nonnursing Assistance on Home Visit Nurses’ Time Spent In Japan: One Group Repeated Pretest-Posttest Trial

To determine means of improving the efficiency of home nursing services, we conducted an experimental pretest-posttest study to compare the time spent by home visiting nurses (HVNs) on providing care with or without assistance. HVNs’ job-related satisfaction levels were also compared. Forty-four clients in six visiting nursing offices in Fukuoka prefecture were selected for this study, which was conducted between July 2009 and January 2010. With assistance, HVNs’ total care time and time spent performing trivial tasks decreased and time spent on communicating or teaching increased. Furthermore, HVNs were more satisfied with providing care than with their usual visits. We conclude that introduction of a skill mix might improve home visiting nursing service efficiency through shortening the HVNs’ length of stay at a client’s home.

Characteristics of family caregivers with sleep dissatisfaction in Japan: identification using CHAID dendrograms.

The rapid increase in the population of the elderly has raised several social issues. The current study focused on sleep dissatisfaction in family caregivers to identify family caregivers with a heavy care burden. This study aimed to detect the characteristics of caregivers who are most likely to have sleep dissatisfaction. A chi-squared automatic interaction detection technique was used to analyze data collected from 92 research care managers who collected demographic and sleep dissatisfaction information from 280 caregivers and their care recipients. Caregivers whose care recipients were unstable and bedridden were most likely to have sleep dissatisfaction. When care recipients were not stable or non-bedridden, had severe dementia symptoms, and were physically independent, their caregivers were the second most likely to have sleep dissatisfaction. When care recipients were not stable or non-bedridden, had moderate dementia symptoms, and did not need help in transferring, their caregivers had the lowest risk of sleep dissatisfaction. Although many recent studies have found a high prevalence of insomnia among the elderly, describing the characteristics of caregivers who are most likely to have sleep dissatisfaction is a significant challenge. When care recipients are physically independent, the severity of the recipients dementia symptoms relates to the caregivers dissatisfaction with his/her sleep. In physically dependent care recipients, the severity of the recipients dementia did not contribute to the caregivers dissatisfaction with his/her sleep.

Exploring strategies to encourage community health outreach by health promotion volunteers in Japan.

Japans health promotion volunteers (HPVs) are individuals who act as a natural helping resource in the community. This study explored the factors associated with vigorous community health outreach by HPVs who promote healthy lifestyles. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in December 2009 that included 822 HPVs in 2 areas. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that higher motivation for initial involvement as an HPV, stronger neighborhood networks, and a stronger sense of belonging to the community where they worked were related to vigorous outreach. These findings reveal challenges that HPVs encounter, and also provide recommendations for training HPVs to encourage effective community health outreach.

Home Visiting Nurse Agencies for Community Dwelling Elderly at Nighttime in Japan

Our objectives were to describe the care provided during the nighttime and to discuss the characteristics of individuals who are more likely to be cared for at nighttime by visiting nurses of home visiting nurse agencies (HVNAs). Thirty-one clients participated in this study. Eight clients were physically independent and 23 clients were chair/bed bound. Among the physically independent group, the contents of the care at scheduled times were insulin injection and blood sugar measurement in four clients. Among the chair/bed-bound group, the most frequently given medical treatment was sputum suction (16 clients). The majority of clients who received HVNA services at night and early in the morning required medical treatment. The disease condition of clients was unstable and assessment of changes in disease condition was desirable.