The impact of sleep–wake problems on health-related quality of life among Japanese nursing college students: a cross sectional survey

Aim: This study was conducted to examine the impact of sleep–wake problems on health-related quality of life of Japanese nursing college students.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 150 third and fourth-year nursing college students from two locations in Japan. Insomnia severity was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and health-related quality of life using the SF-8 questionnaire. The total sleep time (TST) was divided into 3 groups: < 6 h, 6–7 h (reference), and ≥ 7 h. The total ISI score was divided into 2 groups: ≥ 8 points and < 8 points (reference). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate sleep–wake problems related to decline in mental health.Results: The median mental health indicated in the SF-8 questionnaire was divided into two groups, and the factors causing decline in mental health were investigated. The odds ratios (95% confidence interval) for adjusted ISI ≥ 8 and TST on weekdays < 6 h was 6.51 (2.96–14.30) and 3.38 (1.40–8.17), respectively. Mental health status was significantly lower when ISI ≥ 8 and even lower when TST < 6 h.Conclusion: Insomnia and short sleep duration are associated with decreased mental health status in nursing college students. Many tended to lack sleep on weekdays. Sleep–wake problems identified while in university should be comprehensively dealt with

The impact of rotating work schedules, chronotype, and restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease on sleep quality among female hospital nurses and midwives: A cross-sectional survey

Background: Decreases in subjective sleep quality are prevalent among nurses and midwives engaged in rotating shift work. Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between differences in work schedules and subjective sleep quality among female nursing staff. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used for descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Data collection was conducted from December 2016 to September 2017. Settings: Participants were recruited from five regional core hospitals in Japan. Participants: A total of 1253 nurses and midwives were included in the final analysis. Methods: Subjective sleep quality was assessed using the Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Chronotype and social jet lag were calculated for both work day and work-free day. Symptoms related to restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease were assessed using the Japanese version of the Cambridge-Hopkins questionnaire short form 13. Participants with the urge to move their legs, though not fulfilling the restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease criteria, were classified as having leg motor restlessness. Logistic regression analyses for poor sleep were adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, drinking, menstruation status, the presence of premenstrual syndrome, and the presence of a spouse. Results: Rates of poor sleep (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score ?6) among those working, day shifts, rotating 12.5 hour night shifts, rotating 16 hour night shifts, and three-shift rotations were 41.2%, 51.1%, 44.5%, and 60.4%, respectively. Approximately 40% of three-shift rotation workers experienced difficulty initiating sleep. Shift workers tended to exhibit evening chronotype, delayed sleep phase, and high social jet lag. The prevalence of restless legs syndrome/Willis-Ekbom disease was 2.5%. Leg motor restlessness was observed in. 15.5% of participants. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of three-shift work (vs. day shift), evening chronotype (vs. morning chronotype), and the presence of leg motor restlessness (vs. no leg motor restlessness) for those with poor sleep were 2.20 (1.47?3.30), 1.95 (1.29?2.94),and 1.66 (1.15?2.39), respectively. Conclusions: Regardless of the working schedules, rates of poor sleep were high among female hospital nurses and midwives. Our findings suggest that poor sleep quality is influenced by three-shift rotation, the evening chronotype, and leg motor restlessness

Global collaboration between Tanzania and Japan to advance midwifery profession: A case report of a partnership model

The global health agenda to reduce maternal mortality is delayed in Sub-Saharan Africa. The shortage of skilled birth attendants in Tanzania hinders the improvement of midwifery care to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity. It is urgently neccesary to develop midwifery leaders capable of working as educators, researchers, administrators, and advanced practitioners, contributing to the improvement of midwifery care and maternal child health in their own country. This report describes the process of establishing the first midwifery master’s program in Tanzania through the efforts of two academic institutions, one in Tanzania and one in Japan. The collaboration developed a sustainable partnership model for the advancement of midwifery education. This partnership model was based upon the professional relationships corresponding with our values of humanized childbirth and people-centered care. The key elements for the project success included: (1) spending adequate time for in-person communication with the collaborative partner; (2) sharing the same goals and concepts; (3) understanding different values and norms for working and living; (4) learning ways of communication and project implementation in the partner’s culture and (5) confirming the feasibility, which could increase team members’ motivation and commitment. Midwives from the two institutions both gained knowledge and research outcomes as well as the satisfaction of establishing the midwifery master’s program. To improve the remaining global maternal health issues, this win-win collaboration should be considered as the 21st century’s partnership model for the global health community

Endogenous oxytocin levels in extracted saliva elevates during breastfeeding correlated with lower postpartum anxiety in primiparous mothers

Background: Breastfeeding in the early postpartum period is expected to have mental benefits for mothers; however, the underlying sychobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Previously, we hypothesized that the release of oxytocin in response to the suckling stimuli during breastfeeding would mediate a calming effect on primiparous mothers, and we examined salivary oxytocin measurements in primiparous mothers at postpartum day 4 using saliva samples without extraction, which was erroneous. Thus, further confirmation of this hypothesis with a precise methodology was needed.Methods: We collected saliva samples at three time points (baseline, feeding, and post-feeding) to measure oxytocin in 24 primiparous mothers on postpartum day 2 (PD2) and 4 (PD4) across the breastfeeding cycle. Salivary oxytocin levels using both extracted and unextracted methods were measured and compared to determine the qualitative differences. State and trait anxiety and clinical demographics were evaluated to determine their association with oxytocin changes.Results: Breastfeeding elevated salivary oxytocin levels; however, it was not detected to a significant increase in the extraction method at PD4. We found a weak but significant positive correlation between changes in extracted and unextracted oxytocin levels during breastfeeding (feeding minus baseline); there were no other significant positive correlations. Therefore, we used the extracted measurement index for subsequent analysis. We showed that the greater the increase in oxytocin during breastfeeding, the lower the state anxiety, but not trait anxiety. Mothers who exclusively breastfed at the 1-month follow-up tended to be associated with slightly higher oxytocin change at PD2 than those who did not.Conclusions: Breastfeeding in early postpartum days could be accompanied by the frequent release of oxytocin and lower state anxiety, potentially contributing to exclusive breastfeeding

Self-administered questionnaire versus interview as a screening method for intimate partner violence in the prenatal setting in Japan: A randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious social issue in Japan. In order to start effective interventions for abused women, the appropriate method of screening for IPV in healthcare settings needs clarifying. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a face-to-face interview with a self-administered questionnaire. We used the Violence Against Women Screen (VAWS), a Japanese screening instrument for intimate partner violence (IPV), for identifying pregnant women who have experienced abuse.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a randomised controlled trial to screen participants at three points in time in a prenatal clinic in Tokyo, Japan. There were 328 consenting women between 14 and 25 weeks of pregnancy who were consecutively selected and randomly assigned to either the interview or self-administered questionnaire group. Both groups completed the same screening instrument three times during their pregnancy. The primary outcome was the total number of women identified by each screening method and the secondary outcome was the effect of the screening as measured by the women's comfort level and their expressed need to consult with the nurse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For all three screenings, the identification rate in the interview group was significantly lower than that for the self-administered questionnaire group (relative risk 0.66, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.97), even after controlling for smoking (adjusted odds ratio 0.59, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.98). The two groups did not differ for secondary outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The self-administered questionnaire identified more IPV than the face-to-face interview when screening pregnant women in a Japanese prenatal clinic.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>UMIN-CTRC000000353</p

Antiferromagnetic Fluctuations in the Organic Superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu(NCS)(2) under Pressure

We measured the C-13-NMR spectrum and T-1 of the quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu(NCS)(2) under pressure. This material was thought to show a relationship between T-c and the effective cyclotron mass m(c)(*), obtained from the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect. We found that kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)Cu(NCS)(2) behaved as a Fermi liquid at low temperature under all pressures, and antiferromagnetic fluctuations were expected. The pressure dependence of the Korringa factor is similar to that of the effective cyclotron mass m(c)(*), suggesting that antiferromagnetic fluctuations contribute to the superconductivity of this material. We also found that, under pressure, T-* was shifted to 150 K, the temperature characteristic of the shift from bad metal to good metal