Kotoko Shimazaki, MPH,Miho Iwakuma, Ph.D
Department of Medical Communication, Kyoto University, School of Public Health
During COVID-19, citizens were required to wear masks in public places in the United States, where such practice had not been customary. It was unclear how Hispanic Americans, who are responsible for much of the essential work associated with high infection risk in that country, changed their perceptions about wearing masks. To investigate Spanish-speaking Americans’ reaction to seven US state statements, we compared the content of tweets before and after the April 3, 2020 recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about wearing masks by the general public. We conducted a quantitative text analysis of 4,686 Spanish-language tweets related to masks posted on Twitter in the seven states from March 7 to May 7, 2020. We found that the CDC recommendation changed Hispanic Americans’ perceptions about wearing masks from the frequent usage of a Spanish adverb "no" in negative and critical contexts, to more characteristic and frequent emphasis on "use" in questionable contexts. Regarding future studies related to information about preventing infectious diseases, we believe that Twitter data analysis can make a contribution as an information source for exploratory research and community-specific issues that would otherwise be difficult to assess with respect to adapting to new lifestyles.
Keisuke Kuwahara, Ai Kuroda, Mio Kato, Hirono Ishikawa
Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health
Background Municipalities in Japan are responsible for supporting community activities, which are important for social ties and community health. However, there is sparse evidence about the information on community activities provided by municipalities.Methods We performed a content analysis of the webpages provided from May 25 to July 14, 2020 on the websites of all 62 municipalities in Tokyo. We coded the data with respect to the followings: resuming community activities after the first state of emergency was lifted in May 2020; information that would show similar tendencies to community activities; information that could have affected community activities; and factors that could have influenced providing information on community activities. We analyzed the data by sender (mayor vs. other).Results We identified messages from the 46 mayors; none of them mentioned community activities. Thirty mayors explained about reopening community facilities and 23 announced control measures, such as avoiding the three Cs. Approximately 90% of the mayors provided messages about perceiving COVID-19 risk; however, none referred to the negative health impacts of self-quarantine. Overall, tendencies of the information provided by other than the mayors were relatively similar to those by mayors. Only two cities provided information about resuming community activities after the state of emergency was lifted. Conclusion The present data suggest that nearly all of municipalities provided no information about community activities after lifting the first state of emergency.
Rie Miyoshi, Keiko Abe, Masayuki Izumi, Masahiro Kurosawa
Aichi medical university college of nursing
Health communication competence among nurse practitioners (NPs), who build relationships with patients and are autonomously involved in community medicine, affects health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between autonomy and emotional intelligence (EI) among Japanese NPs. We conducted an anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey using the Dempster Practice Behavior Scale and the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form and obtained 140 responses (response rate, 75.6%). The mean NP experience of the subjects was 4.5 ± 2.3 years; for 35 participants, it was less than 3 years, for 54 3–6 years, and for 49 over 6 years. The participants’ autonomy and EI were correlated; the well-being factor with EI correlated with all dimensions of autonomy. We found that some EI factors and autonomy dimensions were affected by the subjects’ age and clinical experience. We observed that the well-being factor with EI influenced the autonomy of NPs with less than 3 years’ experience; among those with over 6 years’ experience, the emotionality factor affected autonomy. Enhanced EI was evidently associated with increased autonomy; thus, it would be appropriate to promote EI education among Japanese NPs.
Junya Okada1), Mizuho Okada2)
1) Faculty of Nursing, Kwassui Women’s University, 2) Department of Nursing, Nagasaki University Hospital
Patients with intractable diseases require different types of assistance depending on various pathological conditions and changes in symptoms. Compounded by individual social factors, standardized assistance to meet patients’ needs is not possible. Thus, we speculated that patient groups providing peer support could play a significant role in providing patients with assistance. The present study examined the significance of patient groups through the narratives of individuals participating in such groups for the rare disorder of Behçet disease. Among the 283 Behçet disease patients in Prefecture A in Japan, 20 belonged to patient groups. Of those 20 patients, four consented to participate in semi-structured interviews. We categorized qualitatively and inductively the data obtained. We found that before joining the groups, the patients had to face anxieties caused by the disease, delayed treatment due to lack of diagnosis, and emotional distress. The patients joined the groups for the following reasons: recommendation from other people; being able to return to the workplace; raising an awareness of Behçet disease; and reducing anxiety about the illness and its treatment. By participating in the groups, the subjects underwent a shift in their feelings, changes in their anxiety level toward the illness and changes in their relationship with other people. We found that the groups provided emotional support and a place to exchange information for Behçet disease patients.
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