Japanese public health nurses classified based on empathy and secondary traumatic stress: variable-centered and person-centered approaches.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare providers frequently help traumatized people and are regularly exposed to indirect trauma from their work, resulting in negative psychological responses, such as secondary traumatic stress. Empathy has been associated with patient's quality of care and secondary traumatic stress among healthcare providers. However, the relationship between dispositional empathy and secondary traumatic stress has not been fully elucidated. This study used person- and variable-centered approaches to explore the nature of this relationship. METHODS: A total of 1,006 Japanese public health nurses working in the Tohoku region and Saitama prefecture completed questionnaires that included scales assessing dispositional empathy, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout. First, we examined predictors of secondary traumatic stress using multiple linear regression analysis. Then, we conducted a latent profile analysis to classify participants into unique groups based on four subscales of dispositional empathy (i.e., empathic concern, perspective taking, personal distress, fantasy) and secondary traumatic stress. Finally, we compared the mean values of the study variables across these groups. RESULTS: The multiple regression indicated that in those working in Saitama prefecture, lifetime traumatic experiences, work-related distress, and personal distress were positively related to secondary traumatic stress, but perceived support was negatively related to secondary traumatic stress. Latent profile analysis extracted four unique subgroups. Group 1 displayed the highest secondary traumatic stress levels. Group 2 was characterized by the highest level of empathic concern, personal distress, and fantasy and the lowest perspective taking. Group 3 had a moderate secondary traumatic stress level. Group 4 had the lowest secondary traumatic stress and personal distress scores. In these four groups, the burnout scale (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) showed a pattern similar to the secondary traumatic stress scale. CONCLUSIONS: Our person-centered approach showed that this sample of public health nurses could be classified into four unique groups based on their empathy and secondary traumatic stress scores. Although this group of public health nurses was not large, one group displayed high personal distress levels and high secondary traumatic stress levels. Further research is needed to determine effective interventions for this group.

Validity and reliability of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale-Japanese version.

AIM: This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale-Japanese Version. METHODS: The original Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale was translated into Japanese, and Japanese items were back-translated to English to confirm the accuracy of the translation. A total of 870 public health nurses from the Tohoku region in Japan completed the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale-Japanese Version. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the number of components. Moreover, 351 public health nurses from the Saitama prefecture in Japan also completed the scale. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed with the factor structure identified in the exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS: The exploratory factor analysis identified two components: one associated with client-related distress and the other with trauma-related distress. The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure. The two-factor structure model was better than the three-factor model presented in the original validation study for the English version of the scale. The two-factor model had good internal consistency for the overall product and the subscales. Pearson correlations showed that this model had good convergent validity against the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a psychological measure similar to the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Finally, the two-factor model had good discriminant validity against the Maslach Burnout Inventory. CONCLUSION: This study identified two components of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale-Japanese Version that differ from the three components found in the original English version. The differences in the factor structure might indicate that the factor structure was culturally influenced.

Prevalence of Smoking Among 4 Licensed Types of Nursing Personnel in Japan: An Epidemiological Study.

There is a high prevalence of smoking among nursing personnel, despite the fact that nursing is a health care profession. In Japan there are 4 types of licensed nursing professionals. However, the prevalence of smoking among different types of licensed personnel has not been clarified. We attempted to clarify the prevalence of smoking among the various types of licensed nursing personnel and the factors associated with it. Among the members of the Japanese Nursing Association, 6000 nurses were randomly selected. The participants were sent a questionnaire on smoking habits, personal characteristics, lifestyle habits, and employment status by mail. Current smokers accounted for 1.3% of public health nurses, 4.0% of midwives, 8.2% of registered nurses, and 16.3% of assistant nurses. The license type of nursing personnel was a factor significantly associated with current smoking.

Activities and health status of dispatched public health nurses after the great East Japan earthquake.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the actual activities conducted by public health nurses during their dispatch and their health status during and after dispatch to the three prefectures most severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. SAMPLE: A survey request was sent to a total of 2,237 facilities. Of these, 778 facilities returned questionnaires from dispatched public health nurses. RESULTS: The participants of this study were 1,570 dispatched health nurses who participated in activities mostly at evacuation centers, followed by evacuees' homes. After dispatch, an earlier postdisaster phase at the start of dispatch was independently associated with poor subjective well-being, low mood, worsened sleep state, and intense fatigue. Work hours per day were associated with poor subjective well-being and intense fatigue after dispatch. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that the factor that most strongly affected the postdispatch health of the nurses was the phase that they began their dispatch.