Characteristics of Home-Visit Nursing Stations that Accept Children Requiring Long-Term Medical Care after Discharge from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Many cultures are witnessing high-risk births due to the increasing trend of delayed childbearing. This has resulted in a higher proportion of children requiring long-term medical care (CLTM). The number of home-visit nursing stations available for pediatric patients should increase to provide care for CLTM at home. Through a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of 338 home-visit nursing station managers, this study aimed to identify the determinants of the acceptance of CLTM by analyzing the characteristics of the stations, managers, staff, and registered children, and the volume of home visits. Chi-squared tests and logistic regressions were applied to determine the independence of the variables of acceptance and analyze their significance, respectively. The response rate was 14.6%, the number of pediatric patients registered in the past was 914, and the average number of registered pediatrics was 2.7. The results indicate a correspondence between the increase in home visits by nursing staff and the number of CLTM accepted for home-visit nursing services after discharge from neonatal intensive care units. Additionally, stations whose managers have three or more years of pediatric care experience accept more CLTM, and their employees are better equipped to facilitate these acceptances. Nonetheless, the number of facilities with pediatric departments has declined; thus, nurses will face increasing difficulty gaining pediatric work experiences. Therefore, enhanced seminars and training on pediatric medical care for managers and nurses, as well as strengthened collaboration/coordination with pediatric wards, clinics, and multidisciplinary occupations should be implemented as countermeasures. Our findings illustrate issues and strategies for acceptance.

[Effects of using audiovisual materials in gerontological nursing exercises].

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of using audiovisual materials in gerontological nursing exercises. Sixty-five second year nursing students watched audiovisual materials of scenes of communication between simulated patients (SP) with functional difficulties and other nursing students, and then presented reports on this exercise. We analyzed the reports of the nursing students, and we could determine several categories of description in their reports, which suggest that they could perceive indescribable facial expressions of the SP and mutual communication by unspoken messages between the SP and students, and that they could understand the patients' nonverbal messages through the patient's expressions and reactions. These results suggest that using audiovisual materials in gerontological nursing exercises is effective in helping nursing students to develop a better understanding of the psychology of the elderly with functional difficulties.

[Effectiveness of learning of nursing-work as early exposure by the 1st year medical students at a university hospital].

We conducted a half day program included in the subject of "nursing and care" as early exposure at clinical sites for the 1st year medical students at a university hospital. This program aimed at understanding what nursing is through visit for study and what patients expect through doctor-patient communication. In order to evaluate the program and to clarify problems to be solved, comments and impressions reported by the medical students were analyzed qualitatively and inductively. As a result, we found that the students recognized the importance of communication with patients and of mental care for them. As for nursing, the students also realized the characteristics and significance of nursing. It is noteworthy that they acquired clear images of a medical doctor, including their roles in team-based medical care. We conclude that this program of early exposure to clinical sites is instructive for 1st year medical students.