ABSTRACT
Objective: This study investigates the presence or absence of reminiscence experiences in older adults when using aromas. Focusing on 40 scents familiar to Japanese people, our objective was to determine points of caution for aroma selection and use in reminiscence therapy.Materials and Methods: The participants were 118 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years and older. They were asked about the experience of recalling the past in response to stimuli of 40 aromas on the Japanese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-J). In addition, an olfactory visual analog scale (VAS) was used to evaluate olfactory function. Furthermore, a questionnaire-based survey was administered instead of asking participants to actually smell the odorants in the UPSIT-J.Results: At least 70% of the participants experienced recalling the past triggered by 16 aromas including sandalwood and yuzu fruit. Furthermore, 15 of the scents demonstrated a significant association with age, gender, and olfactory function.Conclusion: These results suggest the importance of considering method, age, and gender when selecting olfactory stimuli. In addition, frequently recalled aromas might evoke reminiscence in older adults.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND@#Like most women, female nurses in the workforce experience life events such as marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing, and carry out numerous personal roles. This may result in an increase in various demands for nurses, and coping with these roles may promote work engagement. However, few studies have focused on work engagement or spillover effects, including those in the family domain, in female nurses with multiple roles. In the present study, we aimed to examine work engagement in female nurses and investigate its relationship with factors such as the presence or absence of multiple personal roles.@*METHODS@#The subjects of this study were 1225 female nurses working at three general hospitals, each with at least 200 hospital beds in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The cross-sectional design of the study used anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Responses were received from 650 nurses (response rate 53.1%), of which 612 were valid (valid response rate 50.0%). Multiple regression analysis was performed on the 612 responses regarding associations between work engagement and the presence or absence of multiple roles (role as a wife or mother), spillover effects, coping characteristics, job demands, and job resources.@*RESULTS@#In general, the work engagement of female nurses was low, as is the case with other female workers in Japan, but work engagement was higher among female nurses with multiple roles than among those without. The regression analysis showed that factors associated with better work engagement in female nurses were family-to-work positive spillover, job resources, coping strategies including "changing a point of view," "active solution for problems," "avoidance and suppression," and the presence of multiple roles.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results indicate that in addition to resources in the work domain, a family-to-work positive spillover effect, which is a variable in the non-work domain, may also promote energetic work among female nurses. Therefore, it is necessary for nurses to receive support at work and use effective coping strategies.
ABSTRACT
<p>Few studies have been performed to examine the effects of educational intervention for oncologists in Japan, to update their knowledge and skills regarding palliative care. This study is aimed to evaluate not only the improvement in trainees’ knowledge and self-complacency, but also to focus on the factors associated with the actual clinical practices of trainees. In one year, 323 trainees from the Hiroshima prefecture joined palliative care workshop using the Palliative Emphasis program on symptom management and Assessment for Continuous medical Education (PEACE), and they were included as subjects in the present study. Referring to the contents of the program, a questionnaire was developed to estimate the extent of change in the trainees’ attitude towards clinical practice. Each of the 26 items included a five point Likert scale ranging from “mostly take responsibility for symptom management” to “depends mostly on the experts for direct intervention”. The questionnaire survey was conducted before and after the implementation of the PEACE program. From the 206 valid responses, most of the data items showed a significant and positive shift in the trainees’ attitude toward palliative care in a clinical setting. Items that did not show this change pertained to adjustment of antidepressants and tranquilizers for delirium and depression. These results suggest that the PEACE program may be effective in improving physicians’ attitudes regarding palliative care.</p>
ABSTRACT
<p>Palliative care is sometimes difficult for medical staff to say to patients with cancer and their families. The late of using the term “palliative care” decrease the opportunity to know about palliative care for the patients and their families. The primary aims of this study were to reveal physicians’ and nurses’ usage of the term “palliative care”, time to use the term for the first time, and a synonym. We conducted a questionnaire survey to 387 physicians and 518 floor nurses at Hiroshima University Hospital in February, 2010. We analyzed the results of physicians and nurses separately. Two hundred and seventy-two physicians (response rate 70.3%) and 284 nurses (54.8%) answered the questionnaire. Many physicians (77.2%) and the majority of nurses (56.0%) explain with the term “palliative care”. the majority of physicians use the term when cancer cause any symptoms and at early stage. Some nurses (31.4%) couldn’t use the term “palliative care” before physicians explained the term. Nurses having longer experience tend to use the term regardless of physicians’ use. Many physicians use the term “palliative care” at early stage of cancer. Many nurses also use the term at early stage of cancer, but some nurses couldn’t use before physicians’ use.</p>
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among the intention of palliative care nurses to leave their profession and work-life balance, organizational climate, and health status with the objective of exploring the factors that prompt nurses to leave their profession. A cross-sectional survey of 105 palliative care unit nurses working in 7 facilities in prefecture A was conducted using an anonymous, self-completed questionnaire between March and April 2010. Data on eighty-three respondents (response rate, 79.0%) were used. The results were analyzed using a multiple regression analysis with ‘intention to leave profession’ as the dependent variable. The results of the analysis revealed that the organizational climate, the evaluation scores for work and life, and the degree of fatigue were significantly related to the intention of nurses to leave their profession. These results suggest that to reduce the intentions of nurses to leave their profession, improving autonomy within organizational climates and reducing fatigue and low estimates of work-life balance are important. Palliat Care Res 2011; 6(1): 126-132
ABSTRACT
<b>Objective:</b> The objective of the present study was to clarify the relationship between factors having an influence on obesity improvement programs and psychosocial factors from a more comprehensive point of view.<br> <b>Methods:</b> We studied a total of 43 subjects with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or higher who wished to take part in an obesity improvement program and agreed to participate in the study. We conducted an obesity improvement program based on behavior change theories for three months and evaluated physical composition, mental health, social support, stress-coping and the like before intervention and immediately after completion of the program.<br> <b>Results:</b> The average weight showed a significant decrease from 69.0 } 8.8 kg to 65.7 } 8.7 kg before and after intervention (p<0.001), respectively. It was also shown that the presence or absence of chronic diseases, social support from a spouse and the decrease of avoidance stress coping were related to weight loss.<br> <b>Conclusion:</b> The findings suggest that it will be further necessary to continue working on the need to enhance awareness about stress with a view to preventing occurrence of rebound after the end of weight loss programs and acquisition coping techniques, apart from the cooperation of attending doctors, strengthening of social support from family and friends and managing stress for the duration of the program.<br>