[Impact of COVID-19 on Japanese municipal public health nurses and public health practices related to communication with community residents].

Objective　This study analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on municipal public health nurses and public health practices related to communication with community residents.Method　A self-administered questionnaire survey targeted 474 public health nurses working in 40 municipalities in Japan's Aomori Prefecture. Participants were asked about the following basic attributes: whether they provided care for people who were COVID-19 positive or were in close contact with infected people; physical or mental impacts; how each work area was impacted; how mask-wearing affected their communication with community residents; positive and negative aspects of current infection-control measures; how they communicated and shared information with residents as they provided care; challenges and initiatives; and creative work efforts. We conducted the survey from September 23 to October 7, 2020, and analyzed the data using SPSS and KH Coder.Results　We received 228 responses (48.1% valid responses); 11.4% reported that they provided care or were in close contact with people who were COVID-19 positive. At least 60% of respondents had been impacted mentally. Mask-wearing hindered communication with community residents, however, it did not significantly impact trust-building. COVID-19 measures had a positive impact on respondents' public health work as infection-prevention awareness increased and infection-control measures advanced. Meetings, including online conferences, became more efficient, and nurses had opportunities to reexamine their work performance. Negative consequences included weakened communication with residents, slander against infected people, increased stress among residents, repercussions from not going out, and difficulty implementing necessary public health services. Most of the interaction, information sharing, and support for residents were carried out over the phone. Responses regarding new challenges and initiatives were classified into six categories: public health services that consider infection-control measures; various preventive measures; efforts to establish new lifestyles; review of methods for conducting group-health check-ups; review of operations and implementation of creative efforts in providing health guidance; and review of meetings, training sessions, and online conferences.Conclusion　The survey revealed that COVID-19 affected most public health nurses mentally. Challenges in providing in-person care were reported. Nurses faced significant obstacles communicating with residents; however, they reported that services incorporating infection-control measures were progressively gaining traction. Nurses are exploring new communication methods based on established community trust. Furthermore, it is necessary to explore public health services that fulfill both the current and future community requirements.

[Relationship between nurses' expression of humor toward their colleagues, and their physical and mental reactions and social support].

PURPOSE: Humor significantly contributes to reducing stress and invigorating the workplace. Few studies have restricted the targets of humor expression to colleagues or investigated its relationship with stress reactions and social support of colleagues. This study aimed to investigate the expression of humor by nurses toward their colleagues, and examine its relationship with the physical and mental stress reactions and social support of colleagues. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire survey was administered to 765 nurses working at eight hospitals in a city in northeastern Japan. The "Brief Job Stress" questionnaire results were used to identify physical and mental stress reactions and social support of the colleagues. We also used a 15-item humor expression scale (Tsukawaki et al., 2009a) to analyze three humor types: "aggressive humor" (dark jokes), "playful humor" (puns and other wordplays), and "self-disparaging humor" (masochistic or self-deprecating jokes). Statistical analyses were performed to examine the relationship between the patterns of humor, physical and mental stress reactions, and social support of colleagues. RESULTS: Questionnaires were obtained from 672 respondents (collection rate: 87.8%), and 623 participants remained for the analyses (valid response rate: 81.4%) after eliminating incomplete/inadequate entries. The nurses expressed "self-disparaging humor" most frequently toward their colleagues. Multiple regression analysis of the attributes affecting each humor type revealed significant relationships between "aggressive humor" and sex, presence/absence of position/rank, and presence/absence of night shift; "self-disparaging humor" and sex and presence/absence of position/rank; and "playful humor" and sex and age group. Meanwhile, social support of colleagues was significantly related to age group, self-disparaging humor, vitality, irritability/frustration, and physical malaise. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Nurses mostly used self-disparaging humor to communicate with colleagues, which displayed support toward self and others. Male nurses utilized a greater variety of humor as compared to their female counterparts. Nurses with a higher position/rank were more likely to use aggressive humor, such as light sarcasm, or self-disparaging humor, such as laughing at their own mistakes. These results demonstrated that the usage of puns to lighten the mood and other playful humor could increase with age. This study suggested that discussing one's own shortcomings and mistakes with humor and working energetically increased the social support from one's colleagues. Furthermore, approaching or performing one's work with displays of irritation and poor mental and physical health could reduce such support.

Age-related changes in gingival blood flow parameters measured using laser speckle flowmetry.

Previous studies have suggested a possible relationship between age-related changes to human gingival hemodynamics and periodontal disease. However, firmly establishing this has been difficult because of a lack of suitable tools. Our study investigated whether a non-invasive laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG)-based 2-dimensional technique could be used to assess maxillary anterior gingival blood flow under resting conditions. In total, 124 healthy male volunteers aged between 22 and 69 years were included in the study and delineated into young (Y; 22-37 years, n = 45), middle-aged (M; 38-53 years, n = 43), and elderly groups (E; 54-69 years, n = 36). The differences in gingival hemodynamics were compared among age groups and pulse waveform analysis performed to calculate blood flow indices, mean blur rate (MBR), gingival vascular conductance (MBR/mean blood pressure [MBP]), and three pulse waveform parameters (acceleration time index [ATI], falling rate, and blowout time [BOT]). Although no statistically significant differences were observed in the MBR of the three age groups, vascular conductance (MBR/MBP) was lower in groups M and E compared to group Y and correlated negatively with age. ATI and falling rates were also significantly higher in group E relative to group Y, whereas average BOT was significantly lower. All of the assessed parameters correlated with age. These data suggest that there are age-related decreases in the ability to maintain blood flow in the human maxillary anterior gingiva under resting conditions which may impact the likelihood of periodontal disease.