Adverse Childhood Experiences and living in the socially deprived areas in adulthood: A cross-sectional study of the nationwide data in Japan (preprint)

Objectives: This study aimed to examine whether having adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was associated with living in a deprived area in adulthood.  Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted by using nationwide data in 2022 of the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS). Participants were community dwelling people 18 years or older. ACEs were assessed by Japanese version of 15-items ACE measurement tool (ACE-J). Living condition was measured by Area Deprived Index (ADI) and Densely Inhabited District (DID) based on zip code. Multivariable logistic regression to analyze the associations between ADI and ACE 4+ was conducted, controlling for individual-level factors, such as age, sex, marital status, and education, as an additional analysis.  Results: The total of 27,967 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of emotional neglect, childhood poverty, and school bullying were 34.5%, 21.9%, 20.0%, respectively. More than 70.1% of the population had one or more ACE(s). The number of ACEs was associated with significantly higher risk of living in deprived area in the adulthood (p<0.001). ACEs were not associated with living in density area. The association between ADI and ACEs 4+ was non-significant after controlling the individual-level factors.  Conclusion: People with higher number of ACEs tend to live in deprived areas in adulthood. Policy makers in highly deprived areas can apply the trauma-informed approach for the community care and support, which is critical to mitigating deficit perspectives and facilitating comprehensive support for those who experience ACEs.

Effect of a Smartphone-Based Stress Management Program on Depression and Other Health- and Work-Related Outcomes among Hospital Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic in Vietnam and Thailand: A Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial of the COCONATS Project (preprint)

The aim of this study is to describe a research protocol of a multi-country randomized controlled trial to investigate the effect of a smartphone CBT stress management program on improving depression and other health- and work-related outcomes among hospital nurses in Vietnam and Thailand during the COVID-19 epidemic as a part of the COCONATS project. The study is a two-arm, parallel randomized control trial. Hospital nurses (N = 1,500) will be recruited in Vietnam and Thailand, and those who meet the criteria will be randomly allocated to the intervention or control (treatment as usual) group. A seven-week, seven-module smartphone-based stress management program will be developed to teach CBT skills. The intervention group will participate in the program for 10 weeks. Depression as the primary outcome will be measured using the DASS21 at baseline and in 3- and 6-month follow-up surveys. A mixed model repeated measures analysis will be used to test the intervention effect in the total combined sample, on an intention-to-treat basis. This is the first study to investigate the effectiveness of a self-guided smartphone CBT program on improving depression among hospital nurses using a RCT design in South-East Asian middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effect of job strain and worksite social support on reported side effects of COVID-19 vaccine: a prospective study of employees in Japan (preprint)

Objectives: This prospective study aimed to examine the association of job demands, job control, and the lack of supervisor and coworker support with side effects after receiving COVID-19 vaccination in a sample of employees in Japan. Methods: The data were retrieved from an online panel of full-time employees (E- COCO- J). The analysis included participants who were employed and were not vaccinated at baseline (June 2021) but received vaccination at a four-month follow-up (October 2021). An 11-item scale measured the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Four types of psychosocial working conditions (i.e., job demands, job control, and supervisor and coworker support) were measured using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between the psychosocial working conditions and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, adjusting for gender, age, educational attainment, marital status, occupation, chronic disease, dose of vaccination, anxiety from potential side effects of vaccines, fear and worry about COVID-19, and psychological distress at baseline. Results: Overall, 747 employees were included in the analysis. The average number of side effects was 3.78 (SD=2.19): Arm pain (81.1%), fatigues (64.1%), muscle pains (63.3%), and fever (37.5 degrees Celsius +) (53.5%) were reported more frequently. Coworker support score was significantly and negatively associated with the numbers of side effects (standardized {beta}=-0.122, p=0.017). Women, young age, second time vaccination, and high psychological distress were significantly associated with several side effects. Conclusions: Employees with low coworker support may be more likely to have side effects after COVID-19 vaccinations. The findings of this study could inform employees with low coworker support that increasing workplace support may reduce the side effects.

COVID-19 vaccination did not improve employee mental health: A prospective study in an early phase of vaccination in Japan (preprint)

The effect of the COVID-19 vaccination as an individual-based preventive measure on mental health is largely unclear in the literature. The authors report a preliminary finding on whether vaccination effectively improves mental health among employees in Japan based on a prospective study (E-COCO-J). Of the total sample (N=948), 105 (11.1%) were vaccinated at least once at the follow-up survey (June 2021). There was no significant effect of vaccination on the change of psychological distress at baseline (February 2021) and follow-up (June 2021), after adjusting for gender, age, marital status, education, chronic disease, company size, industry, and occupation (healthcare workers or non-HCWs). Providing continuous mental health care for employees is important in an early vaccination phase.