Managers' awareness of mental health measures for their employees in small and medium-sized enterprises in a depopulated mountainous area in Japan: A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT: The local economy is often supported by small and medium-sized enterprises. There is a need to consider effective promotion methods for mental health measures in these enterprises in depopulated mountainous areas. It is important to understand managers' awareness when considering effective mental health measures in these enterprises. The study's aim is to explore managers' awareness of mental health measures for employees in small and medium-sized enterprises in depopulated mountainous areas in Japan.Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 managers in 2019. The primary issues addressed by the interview were regarding the awareness among managers about mental health promotion measures for employees. These are the primary prevention measures. The interview also addressed issues related to the awareness of measures for mental health problems that are fundamental to the secondary and tertiary prevention measures. A qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted.Three categories and 8 subcategories emerged regarding the managers' awareness of mental health promotion measures for employees. The 3 categories were: "Individual support, including their life's aspect, while taking advantage of formal and informal relationships," "The difficulty of drawing out an employees' motivation to work, due to the changes over time in the work size or in their working relationships," and "Creating a comfortable working environment for employees, by complying with the labor standards and adjusting relationships." Regarding managers' awareness of the measures for mental health problems, four categories and 8 subcategories emerged. The 4 categories were: "Prevention and awareness of the incidence of mental health problems," "Individual support based on the enterprise's or employee's characteristics," "A lack of support for the manager to address employees' mental health problems," and "Employees quitting the job, due to the lack of appropriate support."Though managers in depopulated mountainous areas were well aware of the mental health activities offered, the categories showed the need to foster social capital. It also showed the need to collaborate with external support organizations, and the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

Identification of Factors Influencing Cholesterol Changes in Elementary-School Children: A Longitudinal Study.

Changes in serum cholesterol levels during childhood may affect the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. However, cholesterol level changes in Japanese children and adolescents and the factors that influence them have not been completely elucidated. This study aimed to determine whether cholesterol levels changed due to the effects of growth and identify factors. This cohort study included elementary-school children in the fourth grade (9−10-year-old) who underwent assessments of cholesterol levels and demographic and lifestyle characteristics. The participants were followed up in their first year of junior high school with the same laboratory, demographic, and lifestyle assessments. From the fourth year of elementary school to the first year of junior high school, children's cholesterol levels decreased (p < 0.0001). Regarding bowel movements, cholesterol level reduction was significant in individuals with regular bowel movements but not significant in those with infrequent bowel movements. Weight was the factor that most strongly negatively predicted cholesterol level reduction (p < 0.001). The study demonstrated the significance of lifestyle factors for growth-related changes of total cholesterol levels and identified weight as the factor that most strongly influenced total cholesterol level changes. Guidance regarding lifestyle improvements should be imparted to children from the fourth grade of elementary school.

Nursing Students' Retention of Knowledge by Basic Knowledge Type: An Exploratory Study.

Students' interests help determine their learning effectiveness and knowledge acquisition and retention. It is necessary to confirm whether there is a difference in the way in which content being learned is remembered by the content type. In this study, we examined the characteristics of nursing students' retention of physiological knowledge and environmental knowledge by utilizing scores obtained in class. The participants comprised 57 nursing students who had taken a class twice-once in their second year and once in their third year. Before and after each class, students completed an 11-question survey with human health and comfort items based on nursing core competencies and Sphere standards. The correct answer rate was calculated using a logistic regression model to account for inter- and intra-individual variations. The estimated correct answer rate per individual showed one of three trends: (1) increasing and decreasing depending on the lesson topic (knowledge type), (2) increasing overall after decreasing, and (3) increasing gradually. Physiological knowledge was retained well, whereas knowledge pertaining to the environment was retained poorly. Even with knowledge of the environment, the knowledge that students apply to their daily lives and social events was maintained.

Comprehensive analysis of depression-related factors among middle-aged residents in Japan, an Eastern culture: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: There is a need to comprehensively identify depression-related factors, including individual and socioeconomic factors, in each country or cultural area, to consider effective measures to address depression within communities. However, there are not enough studies on middle-aged residents in Japan or other Eastern countries to currently achieve this. Thus, the aim of this study was to comprehensively identify factors related to depression in middle-aged residents in Japan, an Eastern country.The study design was cross-sectional. A questionnaire survey was conducted among all community residents aged 40 to 59 in a rural municipality in Western Japan. The questionnaire contained items on demographic characteristics, psychological factors, health-related behaviors, and socioeconomic factors. A Chi-Squared test or Fisher exact test was used to analyze the relationships between depression and each assessed factor. Next, a logistic regression analysis was performed to identify comprehensive relationships between depression and its related factors.Data from 362 participants were analyzed. The average age was 51.5 years; 148 were male. A Chi-Squared test or Fisher exact test demonstrated that many psychological factors, health-related behaviors, and socioeconomic factors ware significantly related to depression. A logistic regression analysis showed that depression was significantly associated with male gender, low sense of coherence, high cognitive stress levels, low help-seeking behavior, poor quality sleep, and a lack of hobbies. Nagelkerke R2 was 51%.This study revealed through multivariate analysis that depression was primarily associated with personal behavioral and psychological factors in Japan, an Eastern country with a holistic cultural background. This result is consistent with findings from Western countries. This study can contribute the promotion and evaluation of preventive measures for depression in Eastern culture that focus on individual behavioral and psychological factors.

Does Behavior Pattern Influence Blood Pressure in the Current Cultural Context of Japan?

BACKGROUND: Type A behavior pattern has been presented as a risk for coronary heart disease and defined as a psychological-behavioral construct. This study aimed to identify the influence of type A behavior pattern on blood pressure in the current cultural context of Japan. METHODS: This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to community residents aged 40-59 yr in western Japan from Aug to Sep 2017. The data included participant's demographic information (including socioeconomic variables); information related to blood pressure, type A behavior pattern, psychological factors, and health-related behaviors. Logistic regression was used to identify the influence of type A behavior pattern on systolic blood pressure after adjusting for behavioral, psychological, and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: The sample included 362 participants with a mean age of 51.5 years (SD = 5.96); 148 (41.2%) men. A logistic regression demonstrated that type A behavior pattern was negatively associated with systolic blood pressure (OR = 0.43, 95% CI [0.22, 0.83]) after adjusting for sex and age. Similar results were observed after adjusting for other covariates. CONCLUSION: There may be a negative association between type A behavior pattern and systolic blood pressure among adults living in the current cultural context of Japan.

Remote Teaching Due to COVID-19: An Exploration of Its Effectiveness and Issues.

Universities have quickly shifted to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study compared two versions-emergency remote teaching (ERT) and conventional face-to-face class (FFC)-of a course design based on the instructional design ARCS model for effectiveness and issues. The current study comprised 46 third-year nursing students who attended an FFC course in 2019, and 56 third-year students who took the ERT version in 2020. Students' self-rated goal attainment and knowledge of genetics scores were compared before and after taking the courses. Scores between the two class types were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. The students' worksheets were evaluated using keyword frequency and content analyses. Both classes achieved their goals satisfactorily, and this study confirmed that for this course, ERT was as effective as FFC. A comparison of the increase in domain goal attainment scores per student showed that only the psychomotor domain item, "I can fully explain human diversity using genomic information", was significantly different, as it was significantly higher for ERT (p = 0.003). This higher item in the ERT group suggests that ERT can pose a lack of practice caution in acquiring nursing skills.

Analysis of the Training Effect of a Nursing Undergraduate Course on the Management of Radiation-Related Health Concerns-A Single Group Experiment.

After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, demands regarding nursing staff's management of nuclear disasters have increased. This study aimed to evaluate a basic training program to teach undergraduate nursing students on how to deal with public anxiety following a nuclear disaster. We analyzed the data of 111 third-year nursing students attending a Japanese university. We set attainment goals in three domains (cognitive, affective, psychomotor) regarding their acquisition of consultation techniques for radiation-related health concerns. We compared pre- and post-class response scores on a knowledge test and calculated word frequencies in health consultation scenarios. The pre-class mean score was 12.2 out of 27 points and the post-class mean score (directly after the course) was 21.0, a significant increase (p < 0.001). The mean level of attainment in each of the three domains increased significantly from pre-test to post-test (p < 0.001). The variety and number of words in the health consultations also increased. Students attained the program goals for radiation-related health concerns in all domains. During disasters, there is a great need for nursing staff to administer physical and mental care to the public. This program was evaluated to be one wherein nursing staff can acquire fundamental knowledge about radiation in a short time.

Ruthenium complex catalyzed direct ortho arylation and alkenylation of aromatic imines with organic halides.

[reaction: see text] The ortho position of the aromatic ring of imino group substituted aromatic compounds is directly arylated and alkenylated with organic halides in the presence of a catalytic amount of a ruthenium(II)-phosphine complex.