The immediate effects of 10-minute relaxation training on salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) and mood state for Japanese female medical co-workers

This study examined the effects of relaxation training on salivary IgA (s-IgA) and mood state in Japanese female medical workers. Participants were enrolled and assigned to relaxation or control groups. The relaxation group Japanese female medical workers (n = 38, mean age = 33.5 years, SD = 9.6) participated in a lecture on stress for 1 h and had 10 min of relaxation training. The control group (n = 41, mean age = 35.0 years, SD = 8.6) participated in only the lecture. S-IgA was measured, and a self-report mood questionnaire administered before the lecture and then again after the relaxation training for the relaxation group. The control group was measured before and after the lecture. The results showed that s-IgA levels significantly increased after relaxation training in the relaxation group compared with the control group (p = 0.03). A marginally significant intervention effect was observed for mood state (p = 0.06) ; indicating that the relaxation group was more likely to reduce any fatigue and confusion than was the control group. These findings suggest that short-time relaxation training is effective in relaxing mood and causes changes in immunological function

日本人女性コメディカルワーカーに対する10分間リラクセーションの唾液中s-IgA と気分への効果

This study examined the effects of relaxation training on salivary IgA (s-IgA) and mood state in Japanese female medical workers. Participants were enrolled and assigned to relaxation or control groups. The relaxation group Japanese female medical workers (n = 38, mean age = 33.5 years, SD = 9.6) participated in a lecture on stress for 1 h and had 10 min of relaxation training. The control group (n = 41, mean age = 35.0 years, SD = 8.6) participated in only the lecture. S-IgA was measured, and a self-report mood questionnaire administered before the lecture and then again after the relaxation training for the relaxation group. The control group was measured before and after the lecture. The results showed that s-IgA levels significantly increased after relaxation training in the relaxation group compared with the control group (p = 0.03). A marginally significant intervention effect was observed for mood state (p = 0.06) ; indicating that the relaxation group was more likely to reduce any fatigue and confusion than was the control group. These findings suggest that short-time relaxation training is effective in relaxing mood and causes changes in immunological function

Effects of Alcohol-related Health Education on Alcohol and Drinking Behavior Awareness among Japanese Junior College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

We conducted a randomized controlled trial involving Japanese junior college students aimed at investigating the effects of a single session of alcohol health education concerning the effects of alcohol, alcohol-related health problems, and drinking behavior. Students were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=38) or a control group (n=33). The intervention group attended a 90-minute alcohol health education session that included demonstration of an ethanol patch test, watching videos, and a lecture by an ex-alcoholic. The control group received health education regarding smoking. The students. knowledge regarding alcohol, their drinking behavior, and problem drinking (CAGE) were measured by a self-administered questionnaire at the baseline and at a two-month follow-up. A repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) of those who completed the follow-up indicated the education sessions. significant intervention (group*time) effect on the scores related to knowledge of alcohol-related health problems (p=0.035), with a greater increase in the scores of the intervention group at the follow-up. No significant intervention eff ect was observed regarding drinking behavior or problem drinking as measured by CAGE (p&#62;0.05). Alcohol-related education can be considered an effective way to increase awareness of alcohol-related health problems, but less effective for changing drinking the behavior of Japanese junior college students.</p

Mental health, mental fatigue and breast cancer screening examination behavior in adult women

　Breast cancer has attracted increasing attention recently, because the number of breast cancer patients has increased, and breast cancer has affected some famous people. In Japan, however, the rate of screening examinations for breast cancer remains low and has shown little increase. Various innovations have been introduced to raise the examination rate, but the existence of some kinds of psychosocial problems in examinees may be one reason for the limited effect of these efforts. Here we report a study on the mental health and mental fatigue level of adult women that could affect their behavior of undergoing examinations. 　Questionnaires on breast cancer screening examination behavior were distributed to 5,321 adult women from March to September 2014, and responses were obtained from 1,752 (32.9%). After excluding women under 40 years old and questionnaires with clearly inadequate responses, the subjects of the investigation were 1,047 women. 　Past experience of undergoing breast cancer screening and levels of mental health and mental fatigue using the WHO subjective well-being inventory (SUBI) were investigated. The SUBI consists of two scales for positive affect and negative affect that make up subjective well-being, with 11 subscales (General Well-Being Positive Affect, Expectation-Achievement Congruence, Confidence in Coping, Transcendence, Family Group Support, Social Support, Primary Group Concern, Inadequate Mental Mastery, Perceived Ill-Health, Deficiency in Social Contacts, and General Well-Being Negative Affect). It is used to assess levels of mental health and mental fatigue. 　802 people (51.6 ± 7.97) had undergone examinations in the past, and 245 (49.3 ± 7.29 years old) had not. The group that had never undergone examinations tended to be significantly younger (P < 0.0001). The score for mental health level was significantly higher in the group that had undergone examinations (P = 0.013), but no significant difference was seen in mental fatigue level (P = 0.847). Subjects with poor mental health (score < 31) were significantly less likely to undergo screening examinations (odds ratio (OR) 1.61, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.112-2.331, P = 0.012). The results of a multivariate analysis of the 11 subscales showed trends of women being less likely to undergo screening examinations with higher scores for Confidence in Coping (OR 1.175, 95% CI 1.026-1.346, P = 0.019), and more likely to undergo screening examinations with higher scores for Family Group Support (OR 0.872, 95% CI 0.777-0.979, P = 0.020). 　Low mental health level was found to be an impediment to the behavior of undergoing breast cancer screening examinations. Among the mental health items, family support and excessive confidence affected the behavior of undergoing examinations. Thus, approaches that raise mental health with that in mind are thought to be necessary

臨地実習における終末期がん患者への看護に対する学生の不安 : STAIと自由記述による分析

臨地実習における終末期がん患者への看護に対する学生の不安を、STAI調査と自由記述の内容から分析した。STAIの結果、特性不安は平均48.9（SD10.6）、実習前状態不安は平均55.3（SD13.0）、実習後状態不安は平均43.8（SD10.2）であった。自由記述からデータとした総センテンス数は122、一人当り平均数は4.9、その内容は、[学生の心情]、[がん看護を取り巻く現状]、[死生観、人間観について]、[看護過程展開能力]、[対人関係形成能力]、[専門職を目指すものとしての自覚]の6つのカテゴリーと21のサブカテゴリーに分類できた。低特性不安群の一人当り平均センテンス数は5.5、高特性不安群は4.0で、共に[学生の心情]に関する記述が最多であった。死に対する個人的経験を把握すること、個々の学生の困難への対処の仕方、及び防衛機制を知ることが学生理解の一助となり、学習支援をする上で役立つことが示唆された

産業看護職の自覚症しらべ

岡山県産業看護部会会員を対象に日本産業衛生学会産業疲労研究会が作成した「自覚症しらべ」を用いて調査した。特に就業前後の「自覚症しらべ」の得点の比較を行った。質問内容をもとにグループ分けしたところ、I群、II群、III群、IV群、V群ともに終業後の得点の平均値は就業前より高くなっていた。5群の得点を反復測定で有意差を検討したところ、II群の不安定感は有意差がみられなかったが、他の4つの群では、就業後に自覚症が有意に増加していた。職種間、職位間(管理職と一般職)に有意差はみられなかった。職種別(保健師・看護師)で有差がみられたものは、就業前の不安定感、終業後のねむけ感、不快感、だるさ感であり、保健師が有意に低かった。49歳以下と50歳以上での自覚症の質の検討では、総じて49歳以下の得点が高い傾向であった。産業保健の場で従業員が心身ともに健康で働けるためには、産業看護職の役割は大きい。看護職自身が自分の疲労やストレス状況を把握し、リラクゼーションやストレスコーピングにつとめる必要がある

Reliability, Validity, and Significance of Assessment of Sense of Contribution in the Workplace

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Sense of Contribution Scale (SCS), a newly developed, 7-item questionnaire used to measure sense of contribution in the workplace. Workers at 272 organizations answered questionnaires that included the SCS. Because of non-participation or missing data, the number of subjects included in the analyses for internal consistency and validity varied from 1,675 to 2,462 (response rates 54.6%–80.2%). Fifty-four workers were included in the analysis of test–retest reliability (response rate, 77.1%). The SCS showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α coefficients in men and women were 0.85 and 0.86, respectively) and test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.91). Significant (p &lt; 0.001), positive, moderate correlations were found between the SCS score and scores for organization-based self-esteem and work engagement in both genders, which support the SCS’s convergent and discriminant validity. The criterion validity of the SCS was supported by the finding that in both genders, the SCS scores were significantly (p &lt; 0.05) and inversely associated with psychological distress and sleep disturbance in crude and in multivariable analyses that adjusted for demographics, organization-based self-esteem, work engagement, effort–reward ratio, workplace bullying, and procedural and interactional justice. The SCS is a psychometrically satisfactory measure of sense of contribution in the workplace. The SCS provides a new and useful instrument to measure sense of contribution, which is independently associated with mental health in workers, for studies in organizational science, occupational health psychology and occupational medicine

Confirmation of Maslow’s Hypothesis of Synergy: Developing an Acceptance of Selfishness at the Workplace Scale

This study aimed to develop a new Acceptance of Selfishness at the Workplace Scale (ASWS) and to confirm Maslow’s hypothesis of synergy: if both a sense of contribution and acceptance of selfishness at the workplace are high, workers are psychologically healthy. In a cross-sectional study with employees of three Japanese companies, 656 workers answered a self-administered questionnaire on paper completely (response rate = 66.8%). Each questionnaire was submitted to us in a sealed envelope and analyzed. The ASWS indicated high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86). Significant (p &lt; 0.001) positive moderate correlations between ASWS scores and job control scores support the ASWS’s convergent and discriminant validity. Significant (p &lt; 0.001) associations of ASWS scores with psychological distress and work engagement supported the ASWS’s criterion validity. In short, ASWS was a psychometrically satisfactory measure. Significant (p &lt; 0.05) interactions between a sense of contribution and acceptance of selfishness at the workplace in linear regression models showed that when those two factors are low, psychological distress becomes high. However, when a sense of contribution and acceptance of selfishness are high, work engagement also becomes high. Thus, Maslow’s hypothesis of synergy was confirmed