Relationship between an amount of Key Tasks and Job Satisfaction among Caregivers and Nurses in Elderly Care Facilities

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to examine relationship between an amount of key tasks and job satisfaction among caregivers and nurses in elderly care facilities. METHODS: Questionnaires were mailed to the caring staff of elderly care facilities. After data collection (return rate 70%), information about work situations and health conditions were analyzed among 325 female workers, who were classified to 4 groups as follows; (1) caregivers under 40 years of age (2) caregivers of 40 years or over (3) nurses under 40 years of age (4) nurses of 40 years or over. RESULTS: Mean ages and length of career in caring sector were 37.2 +/- 12.2 yr and 4.5 +/- 3.0 yr for caregivers and 41.6 +/- 9.2 yr and 16.8 +/- 8.9 yr for nurses, respectively. A larger amount of care services were done on average by workers being dissatisfied with their job than by the satisfied workers in each of the 4 groups. The dissatisfied caregivers under 40 years showed significantly higher frequencies (as ratios of 1.4 - 2 to 1) in several care services such as "helping with showers or baths", "helping with eating", "changing diapers", "moving caretakers from bed or chair to wheelchair or vice versa", as compared with the satisfied caregivers under 40 years. Similarly, the 40 plus dissatisfied caregivers helped caretakers sit up in bed significantly more frequently. For nurses, on the other hand, "changing diapers" was found as the only service with a significant difference in frequency between the dissatisfied and the satisfied, but that was limited in the 40 plus age group. A frequency of "changing diapers" was associated with an increase in the risk of job dissatisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that an appropriate amount of each key task in elderly care facilities should be set to prevent staff\'s dissatisfaction with their job from growing excessively.

Studies on the relationship between physical training and immunity. (I). Effect of acute physical exercise on immunity of untrained subjects / 体力科学

In order to clarify the relationship between acute physical exercise and immunity, the numbers of overall leucocytes, lymphocytes and neutrophils, the concentrations of immunoglo-bulins and complements, the ratios of lymphocyte subsets (OKT 3, 4, 8, Leu 7, OKIa 1) and the levels of lymphocyte transformation response to PHA were measured in nine untrained male subjects (18-22 years old) before, immediately after, along with 24 and 72 hours after acute physical exercise at 50% of VO<SUB>2</SUB>max for 2 hours. Before exercise all components were within normal range. Exercise produced a significant rise in the number of leucocytes and neutrophils overall. The response of lymphocytes to PHA immediately after exercise was significantly lower than before, or 24 hours or 72 hours after exercise.<BR>There was no change in the number of lymphocytes, or in the concentration of immunoglo-bulins and complements before and after exercise. Likewise the ratios of lymphocyte subsets also remained unchanged.<BR>From these results, it can be concluded that acute physical exercise by untrained subjects is one kind of physical stressor and can contribute to T cell dysfunction.