Miyuki Takase

Impact on perceived postnatal support maternal anxiety and symptoms of depression in new mothers in Nepal when their husbands provide continuous support during labour.

BACKGROUND when a husband provides continuous support during his wifes labour, his presence is considered effective in reducing her dissatisfaction with the childbirth process. The impact of this on the postnatal well-being of a new mother, however, is not clear. OBJECTIVE to examine the impact on postnatal support, maternal anxiety and symptoms of depression experienced by new mothers in Nepal when their husband supported them continuously during labour. METHOD the study involved 231 Nepali women, of whom 77 were supported continuously by their husbands, 75 by female friends, and 79 were not supported by any companion during childbirth. They were contacted at six to eight weeks post partum, when postpartum support questionnaires, a state-trait anxiety inventory and the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale were administered. Structural equation modelling was conducted. FINDINGS observations showed that continuous support from a husband during his wifes labour was related to a greater degree of postnatal support than those who were not supported by their husband during labour (β=0.23, p<0.001). Similarly, the more the women considered they were being supported, the less likely they were to experience maternal anxiety (β=-0.52, p<0.001), which in turn was associated with a lower level of depression (β=0.43, p<0.001). These findings were consistent, even after adjustments for the effect of female support during the postnatal period. CONCLUSION the study suggests that continuous support from husbands during labour has a direct impact on the perceived postnatal support, and an indirect impact on anxiety and depression in new mothers in Nepal.

Effects of Nurses’ Perceptions of Actual and Demanded Competence on Turnover Intentions

With the growing focus on continuous professional development, demands placed on nurses to uphold nursing competence have been increasing. This study examined how nurses with different lengths of clinical experience perceived the relationship between their actual competence and the competence they felt was demanded of them, and how this relationship was related to their turnover intentions. Survey questionnaires were distributed to 1,377 nurses, of whom 765 returned usable completed forms. The results showed that across all the groups of clinical experience, nurses perceived the demanded competence levels to be higher than their actual competence levels. However, turnover intentions were not related to nurses’ perceptions of demanded competence and were negatively related to perceptions of actual competence. The levels of competence demanded should not be considered as threats for nurses. Improving nurses’ competence may reduce their turnover intentions.

Development and examination of the psychometric properties of the Learning Experience Scale in nursing

This paper examines the psychometric properties of the Learning Experience Scale. A survey method was used to collect data from a total of 502 nurses. Data were analyzed by factor analysis and the known-groups technique to examine the construct validity of the scale. In addition, internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbachs alpha, and stability was examined by test-retest correlation. Factor analysis showed that the Learning Experience Scale consisted of five factors: learning from practice, others, training, feedback, and reflection. The scale also had the power to discriminate between nurses with high and low levels of nursing competence. The internal consistency and the stability of the scale were also acceptable. The Learning Experience Scale is a valid and reliable instrument, and helps organizations to effectively design learning interventions for nurses.

「初心者レベル」看護師におけるICU 看護基礎知識評価試験案の作成 : 古典的テスト理論に基づく項目分析

本研究の目的は,「初心者レベル」看護師用のICU 看護基礎知識評価試験案を作成し,各問題項目の項目特性を確認して,最終試案作成に向けた示唆を得ることである.先行研究による知見を基に試験案を作成し,看護師等養成所の最終学年生113 名,第1学年生48 名の協力を得て,連結可能匿名化によるパイロットテストを国試前後に実施した.古典的テスト理論に基づく項目分析の結果,テスト理論上の適合項目は国試前54 項目,国試後74 項目だった.このうち国試前・後で一致したテスト理論上の適合項目は52 項目,救済項目は3項目,再検討項目は1項目だった.国試前・後で一致した項目困難度が0.85 以上の問題は,ICU 看護において基本的で重要な問題だった.同様に,項目困難度が0.25 未満の問題は,術後管理と人工呼吸器による呼吸管理に関するICU 看護において重要な内容だった.これらの問題は,修正・削除候補と判断できるが,統計的な項目特性に限らず,内容面に立ち入った検討が課題となった.