ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The workload of public health nurses (PHNs) working for local governments has been increasing as health issues become more diverse and complicated. Even amidst the ongoing administrative and fiscal reforms, there is an urgent need to ensure how effectively and efficiently public health nurses can practice in health service development. The objective of this research was to clarify the actual conditions of best practice transfer (BPT) and its related factors. METHODS: An anonymous postal and self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among PHNs working at 334 sites, including the local government offices and health centers across Japan, and analysed mainly through logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-five of the 334 institutions (55.4%) agreed to participate, and of the 966 questionnaire forms distributed, 709 forms (73.4%) were collected, of which 702 responses (72.7%) were valid. Although less than half (43.2%) have experience in BPT in health service development, more than 80% are willing to perform going forward. Significant factors for both the group with experience in BPT and the group with willingness to perform include an organizational culture that promotes BPT, as well as multiple elements of the workplace environment and facilitating factors related to knowledge and learning. The experienced group recognised the needs for criteria to evaluate the adaptability of best practice, while the willing group, to evaluate the quality of practice. CONCLUSIONS: Through a nationwide survey, this research elucidated for the first time the actual conditions of BPT by PHNs in Japan and related factors. The results indicated the importance of developing a system to promote BPT at the workplace level, also highlighted the importance for practitioners and experts, including researchers, to work together to develop practical guidelines to ensure evidence-based practices. Urgent actions are needed for the national and local governments to develop a system to promote BPT from diverse perspectives, building on the findings of this research.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: More than 70% of public health nurses in Japan belong to government agencies, and there is a need for further evidence-based capacity development for program implementation. The purpose of this research was to develop an Implementation Degree Assessment Sheet (IDAS) by customizing the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to health programs in Japan. METHODS: The draft IDAS (five domains, 31 constructs) created by customizing the CFIR was refined by the researchers and modified through pre-testing. The survey covered full-time public health nurses (PHNs) affiliated to all prefectures and the cities with health centers of Japan. The survey was conducted as an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey by mail. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-five of the 334 institutions (55.4%) agreed to participate in our survey. Of the 966 questionnaire forms distributed, 709 forms (73.4%) were collected, of which 702 responses (72.7%) were valid. No item required consideration of deletion based on the results of item analysis, and our confirmatory factor analysis on model fitness between the five IDAS domains and CFIR showed sufficient fit indices after modification. With regard to reliability, Cronbach's coefficient alpha, a measure of internal consistency, stayed above 0.8 overall. Our verification of stability with the split-half (odd/even) method resulted in a Spearman-Brown reliability coefficient of 0.95. The correlation coefficient between the IDAS scores and the research utilization competency score, used as an external criterion, was 0.51 (p<0.001), supporting the coexistence validity of the criterion-related validity of the IDAS. The significant differences were observed between known-groups, supporting the known-group validity of the IDAS. CONCLUSION: This study developed the IDAS and confirmed constant reliability and validity. Hereafter, it is necessary to promote the required capacity development based on the actual degree of implementation in order to use the IDAS for the competency development of public health nurses and related professions to deliver health programs.
ABSTRACT
AIM: The purpose of this study was to develop a new scale of pregnancy-related discomforts for evaluating expectant women's psychosomatic states during each trimester. METHODS: The study population comprised 786 expectant women (response rate: 38.2%) who underwent antenatal examinations in 13 hospitals located in eight regions of Japan. Respondents answered questions about the incidence of 95 well-known symptoms related to pregnancy. Responses were divided into three groups based on the gestational period. Three scales were then prepared based on item and factor analyses, and reliability and validity were confirmed. RESULTS: The resultant global scales for the first, second, and third trimester consisted of 15, 13, and 13 items, respectively. The three global scales could be divided into three, three, and two subscales, respectively. The reliability coefficients of the global and subscales were 0.7 or more. Validity was confirmed by the conventional group method. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to develop scales for pregnancy-related discomforts in Japanese women in order to evaluate psychosomatic states during each trimester of pregnancy. Because the number of scale items had decreased by more than half as compared to previous scales, this new, more feasible scale may be useful in clinical settings.
