Japan-hospitals : the journal of the Japan Hospital Association最新文献

The researchers conducted an investigation on factors influencing stress coping ability, referred to as a Sense of Coherence (SOC). 278 students in the 2nd to 4th year of "A" University nursing program were subjected to this survey, and the response rate was 75.5%. The average SOC value was 39.5 +/- 6.6 for males, and 37.4 +/- 7.0 for females. The value for age group 20 to 24 years old was 37.1 +/- 6.8. The average SOC value obtained through this survey was higher than the survey results of the Kanto region and lower than the national results. When a comparison was made between "the group with higher average SOC" and "the group with lower average SOC" among the entire survey average SOC, especially significant differences were discovered in the following items. "Prospects for the future is bright", "Difficult experiences have meaning", "I have good relationship with friends", "I feel stressed", and "I was seriously ill" (P < 0.001). "I am always interested in other people", and "I have a friend to rely on in difficult circumstances" (P<0.01). "I can do most anything if I put my mind to it", "We can encourage each other", "I am satisfied with my current situation", "I was satisfied with my role in my club", and "I was able to enter my desired university" (P<0.05). The researchers categorized these items into 1) Positive meaning from a difficult experience, 2) Cognition to prevent stressor from becoming negative stress, 3) Experience of success, 4) Satisfaction and self-confidence, 5) Sociability, and 6) Presence of a reliable other. It was discovered that offering environment where people can work hard together by learning from others is an important issue to improve SOC.

Aim: To improve preventive care administration, this paper epidemiologically categorized causative illnesses of frail Japanese elderly living in urban areas by age and sex.

Methods: Data from Japanese long-term care insurance (LTCI) documentation was used to categorize the patterns of disease incidence consisting of the main medical conditions and comorbid diseases among frail elders aged above 65 years (male: 193; female: 360) from the central area of Osaka prefecture. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the diseases requiring intensive care: care level 3+. The fracture patients' ADL and cognitive functions were examined using the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS).

Results: In the patterns of disease incidence, 43% of the men had lifestyle-related diseases, while 53% of the women had musculoskeletal disorders. The main medical conditions associated with care level 3+ in men were dementia (odds ratio, 5.4), cerebrovascular disease (CVD; 3.9), renal failure (8.9), and fracture and fracture sequelae (4.7); and in women, femoral fracture (42.7), CVD (8), vertebral fracture (6.2), dementia (4.4), and neoplasms (4.1). Further, 46% of the female patients with femoral fractures had dementia.

Conclusions: Preventive measures should focus on lifestyle-related diseases, preventing dementia by early detection, treatment of hypertension and diabetes through medication, physical exercise and nutrition, and cancer screenings for both sexes, along with musculoskeletal disorders prevention for women. Since femoral fractures render patients (especially those over 80 years) bedridden with cognitive dysfunctions, fall prevention is essential.

The M9.0 great earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 triggered a huge tsunami on the Pacific coast in the Tohoku region and caused enormous damage, resulting in 15,854 deaths and 3,276 missing persons (as of March 1, 2012, according to the Japanese National Police Agency). Presently, inhabitants in Fukushima Prefecture continue to live as refugees because of radiation contamination caused by explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plants. Immediately after the earthquake, DMATs (Disaster Medical Assistance Teams) went to the affected areas to begin relief operations. The Japan Medical Association then founded the JMAT (Japan Medical Association Team), an organization to take over DMAT activities. The purpose of JMAT is (1) to assist hospitals and clinics in affected areas with daily care and (2) to provide medical care in refuge and aid stations. The Osaka Medical Association was assigned to be in charge of medical support in Iwate Prefecture. For medical services, team activities are more effective than individual efforts. Therefore, JMAT is basically a team composed of one doctor, two nurses, and one clerical officer. The team of Yao Municipal Hospital consists of two doctors, two nurses, two pharmaceutical chemists, and two office clerks. It is 13,000 km each way from Osaka to Iwate, and it is an estimated 15 hours by road. Our initial schedule was five days and four nights, leaving Osaka on the afternoon of May 26 and heading for Iwate on a chartered bus, engaging in medical care from the morning of May 27 to 30, leaving Iwate on the morning of May 30 and returning to Osaka that evening. However, since Hanamaki Airport in the inland area of Iwate Prefecture became usable starting in mid-May, we arrived in Hanamaki City by air and used a large taxi from the airport. In accordance with the recovery of local medical institutions, the Osaka Medical Association JAMT dispatch was to be terminated by the end of May. As a result, our team's itinerary was reduced to three days and two nights, leaving on the morning of May 27 (by air), and returning to Osaka on the evening of May 29 (by air).