Preparedness for Protecting the Health of Community-Dwelling Vulnerable Elderly People in Eastern and Western Japan in the Event of Natural Disasters.

We clarified the preparedness necessary to protect the health of community-dwelling vulnerable elderly people following natural disasters. We collected data from 304 community general support centres throughout Japan. We found the following in particular to be challenging: availability of disaster-preparedness manuals; disaster countermeasures and management systems; creation of lists of people requiring assistance following a disaster; evacuation support systems; development of plans for health management following disasters; provision of disaster-preparedness guidance and training; disaster-preparedness systems in the community; disaster information management; the preparedness of older people themselves in requiring support; and support from other community residents.

Comparable effect of a leukotriene receptor antagonist and long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist in cough variant asthma.

Cough variant asthma (CVA) is a common cause of chronic persistent cough, in which allergic airway inflammation may play a role. Although current guidelines recommend bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment, comparison of the efficacy of these medications has not been investigated. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of pranlukast, a leukotriene receptor antagonist, and salmeterol, a long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist, in the treatment of CVA. The study was a randomized, controlled, parallel-group, multicenter trial. After a 4-week run-in period, 49 patients with newly diagnosed CVA were assigned to receive oral pranlukast (225 mg, b.i.d.) or inhaled salmeterol (100 µg, b.i.d.) for 4 weeks. Primary outcome measure was cough symptom and secondary outcome measures were pulmonary function and eosinophilic airway inflammation. Treatment with pranlukast and salmeterol each decreased cough symptom scores, where the changes from baseline values were significantly greater in the pranlukast group than in the salmeterol group. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second and peak expiratory flow (PEF) increased in the two treatment groups with the same magnitudes, but significant decreases in diurnal variation of PEF and eosinophil counts and eosinophil cationic protein contents in the peripheral blood and induced sputum were observed only in the pranlukast group. In view of antitussive and anti-inflammatory actions, the leukotriene receptor antagonist pranlukast seems to be more effective than the long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist salmeterol in the treatment of CVA.

Factors influencing practices among ward nurses that support ongoing independent community living after discharge: a cross-sectional study.

Background:It is not clear which personal factors and experiences affect ward nurses' practice in supporting patients to return home after discharge. Aims: To explore the practices among ward nurses that help them support patients to continue to live independently in the community; and the influence on these of personal experience of providing home care, approaches to discharge planning, and understanding about patients after discharge. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: The study included 178 ward nurses in three hospitals. We used a t-test to analyze differences in ward nursing practices focusing on community living by nurses' characteristics, experience in providing home-based care, discharge planning approaches, and understanding of patient situations after discharge, and a stepwise multi-regression analysis with ward nursing practices focusing on community living as the dependent variable. Results: Respondents included 167 female and 11 male nurses, with 34.8% in their 40s. Their mean length of nursing experience was 14.2 ± 9.8 years. Only 45.5% of the ward nurses recognized that discharge planning should commence on admission. The most common area of ward nursing practice focusing on community living was educating patients and their families. Cooperation with community healthcare workers was seen least frequently. The highest rate of contribution was observed in a model including recognition of the importance of discharge planning, number of conferences attended with community care service providers, experience of caring for a family member, and length of nursing experience (Adjusted R2 = 0.301). Impact statement: Improved ward nursing practice can help nurses to focus on enabling ongoing independent community living. Conclusions: Nurses were most focused on educating patients and their families to help them to manage after discharge. Recognizing the importance of discharge planning, holding conferences with community care service providers, and experience in caring for a family member affected ward nursing practice supporting community living.