Components of spirituality in older adults: A phenomenological study through interviews based on dignity therapy.

AIM: A key perspective in examining dignity, which is important for older adults, is spirituality. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the components of spirituality in older adults through interviews based on dignity therapy (DT). METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN AND JUSTIFICATION: Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenology was applied to understand experiences rooted in the life world of older adults from their own perspective. ETHICAL ISSUES AND APPROVAL: This study was approved by the ethical review committee of the author's university. All participants provided consent to participate. RESEARCH METHODS: Semi-structured interviews based on DT were conducted with 11 community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older who were using some form of medical or social services. The interviews were transcribed, and the text was analysed based on Colaizzi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: Four themes were identified as components of spirituality in older adults: trauma, being silent about hard experiences, forming connections and taking on challenges and discovering one's own spirit. The participants felt a sense of helplessness and frustration as they dealt with traumatic events. Feelings of shame, guilt and/or resignation prevented them from talking about the distress they were experiencing, but they were able to move forward after receiving emotional support and having opportunities to share with others. These processes led to the discovery of a new self. STUDY LIMITATIONS: This study assessed the experiences of older adults in Japan and may therefore have been influenced by the social background and culture of Japan. Future research should target older adults from a variety of social backgrounds as well as those with specific health conditions. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest the importance of creating opportunities for healthcare professionals as well as family, friends and community members to help older adults reflect on their lives and talk about their accomplishments and unresolved issues. Doing so should help older adults maintain their dignity while remaining aware of their mortality.

Support nursing researchers' need from academic societies during COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey.

The activities of nursing researchers have been constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the types of support and related factors that nursing researchers hope to receive from academic societies during the pandemic and to obtain suggestions for the role of academic societies in supporting nursing researchers and expanding research. An online survey was conducted with 1532 Japan Academy of Nursing Science members. The survey included 19 items of potential support from the society during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as open-ended questions. Data were analyzed statistically and qualitatively. For 9 of the 19 items, over 50% of respondents reported that they "needed" or "very much needed" support. Multivariate analysis results showed that younger respondents and those with family members requiring care were significantly more likely to report needs for some items. In the open-ended comments, there were several suggestions for activities, including "Lobbying for revision of regulations on research implementation." Nursing researchers expressed needs for support that reflect their demographic characteristics and situations, including collaboration across organizations and securing research-promotion and skill-development opportunities online.

Experiences and perceptions of people living with schizophrenia in Japan: A qualitative study.

This descriptive study used a qualitative inductive approach to investigate the subjective experiences and perceptions of people with schizophrenia living in the community during times of difficulty and how they coped. We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine community-dwelling people with schizophrenia and used the KJ method developed by Kawakita Jiro to structure the data obtained. We identified 10 symbols with his method: bewilderment at the onset; helplessness and longing for death; solitude linked to death; precarious daily life; relationships at risk; fear of being stigmatized; pillars of emotional support; will to overcome; hope to never give up; and living with the illness. The results suggest that community mental health nurses should provide support so their patients can continue to have pillars of emotional support and the will to overcome difficulties, as well as continue to use their coping methods, even when experiencing many difficulties. It is important that nurses understand and share in their patients' difficult experiences and hopes when providing support toward their recovery.

Content Analysis of Student Essays after Attending a Problem-Based Learning Course: Facilitating the Development of Critical Thinking and Communication Skills in Japanese Nursing Students.

The importance of active learning has continued to increase in Japan. The authors conducted classes for first-year students who entered the nursing program using the problem-based learning method which is a kind of active learning. Students discussed social topics in classes. The purposes of this study were to analyze the post-class essay, describe logical and critical thinking after attended a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) course. The authors used Mayring's methodology for qualitative content analysis and text mining. In the description about the skills required to resolve social issues, seven categories were extracted: (recognition of diverse social issues), (attitudes about resolving social issues), (discerning the root cause), (multi-lateral information processing skills), (making a path to resolve issues), (processivity in dealing with issues), and (reflecting). In the description about communication, five categories were extracted: (simple statement), (robust theories), (respecting the opponent), (communication skills), and (attractive presentations). As the result of text mining, the words extracted more than 100 times included "issue," "society," "resolve," "myself," "ability," "opinion," and "information." Education using PBL could be an effective means of improving skills that students described, and communication in general. Some students felt difficulty of communication resulting from characteristics of Japanese.