Health Communication Research Vol.15, No.2

Wheels of health literacy promotion

Aya Goto

Center for Integrated Sciences and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University

The wheels of vehicles (a metaphor for the contrasting words listed below) are connected and interlocked. It can be challenging to disseminate information effectively in an emergency situation, and it is important in normal times for community residents and experts to work together to communicate and use information effectively. In the event of a global health crisis, such as a pandemic, it is imperative to promote health literacy through collaborative approaches involving national and international stakeholders. In this talk, I describe the process of putting the concept of health literacy into practice after the Fukushima nuclear accident, and the connected pairs of wheels involved. After the nuclear accident, health professionals faced the challenge of infodemics. For improving communication skills, health literacy training for health professionals was planned and implemented. Mid- to long-term evaluation of the training confirmed that communication skills were improved among the participants. Subsequently, a participatory school health project called Creative Health was designed and implemented to foster health literacy among children in the community. Creative Health is a health promotion method that empowers participants to improve their own health through creative activities. Students who underwent the program showed increased positive attitudes toward their health and community, and teachers recognized the children’s capacity as active agents in the community. This program is being expanded to other countries in Asia and Africa.

A Qualitative Analysis of Patients' Decision-Making Processes in a Modern Society with Diversified Sources of Medical Information

Mami Kikuchi1),Shinji Matsumura2)3),Seiji Bito3)

1) Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo Heisei University
2) Matsumura Clinic
3) Division of Clinical Epidemiology, NHO Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

This qualitative study explored the impact of different sources of medical information on patient decision-making in shared decision-making (SDM) processes. Survey participants were recruited from registered monitors who, as patients, considered themselves to have made significant decisions in their own illness experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 eligible participants. The study was not restricted by participant disease type but focused on interactions with different sources of medical information. Verbatim transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using narrative analysis methods, from which four decision-making models were identified: I) openness to doctors, II) openness to familiar persons, III) closedness to doctors, and IV) openness to the environment. These models reflect the relative openness or closedness of the patients to primary information sources. Results highlight that the decision-making process is significantly influenced by the availability and type of information source. Additionally, the relational aspect of the information provider is more important than the content itself. This suggests that healthcare providers need to understand patients' information access preferences to effectively facilitate SDM.

Messages Nurses Understand When Communicating with Mechanically Ventilated Patients in Critical Care: A Video-Based Descriptive Observational Study

Akiko Yamaguchi1), Atsue Ishii1), Haruna Fukushige1), Izumi Akada2), Rie Mitani1), Akiko Ito1), Sayaka Suga1), Akihito Nakajima1), Akiko Yamada3), Yoko Arima4)

1) Department of Nursing, Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University
2) Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Yamaguchi University
3) Department of Nursing, Higashi Takarazuka Satoh Hospital
4) Department of Nursing, Kawasaki Hospital

Objective: This study was performed to clarify how long it takes nurses to understand the message content from mechanically ventilated critically ill patients during patient-initiated two-way communication, as well as the specific message content understood by the nurses. Methods: This was a video-based observational study involving seven patients and seven registered nurses. Communications between patients and nurses were video-recorded in three critical care units of two hospitals in Japan from July 2019 to June 2020. Patient-initiated two-way communication scenes were extracted from the video footage. The message content understood by the nurses in these scenes and the duration required to understand the content were descriptively analyzed. Results: A total of 668.0 minutes of footage was videotaped, from which 36 patient-initiated two-way communication scenes were extracted. Nurses understood the patients’ message content in 30 of these scenes. The message content comprehended by the nurses included “Pain” (n = 7), “Question” (n = 5), and “Go home” (n = 2). Regarding the duration required for comprehension, “Go home” took the longest at 195.2 seconds and “Pain” took the shortest at 3.6 seconds. Conclusion: Patients actively convey their distress symptoms and personal concerns, and nurses take time to understand these personal concerns.

Development of the Performance Self-Rating Scale during Cooperative Learning for Students in Higher Education Institutions (CoopSR scale):The necessity of the CoopSR scale and its implications for health communication studies

Nobuko AIDA1), Hitomi MATSUI2), Hiroshi YAMAZAKI3), Atsushi IZAWA1)

1) Institute of Health Science, Shinshu University
2) Kanto Industrial Accident Pension Support Center, Rousai Support Center
3) Shizuoka Graduate University of Public Health

We developed the Performance Self-Rating Scale during Cooperative Learning for Students in Higher Education Institutions (CoopSR scale) and verified its reliability and validity. We conducted an online survey of students enrolled in higher education institutions in Japan, excluding graduate schools. Data from a total of 568 survey respondents were analyzed, and the alpha and omega reliability coefficients for each factor (interpersonal reactivity tendencies and action control tendencies) of the scale, which was developed through two preliminary surveys, were 0.805-0.914 and 0.801-0.914, respectively. The final factor structure included three factors (“prioritizing oneself,” “prioritizing others,” and “assertiveness”) for interpersonal reactivity tendencies, and two factors (“action-oriented tendency” and “state-oriented tendency”) for action control tendencies. The goodness-of-fit, adjusted goodness-of-fit, and comparative fit index values were 0.869-0.891, 0.852-0.853, and 0.879-0.881, respectively. Significant weak to strong correlations with existing scales and external standards were confirmed. The intraclass correlation coefficient for test-retest reliability was 0.642-0.825 (p < 0.0001). These findings confirmed the reliability and validity of the CoopSR scale.

Effects of Exercise Habits and Summer Vacation on Smartphone Screen Time and Dependence among New University Students

Hinata Esaki1), Noriaki Maeda1), Makoto Komiya1), Kazuki Fukui2), Shogo Tsutsumi1), Kazuki Kaneda1), Rami Mizuta1), Yukio Urabe1)

1) Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences Division of Integrated Health Sciences, Hiroshima University
2) Japan Para Badminton Federation

Currently, most Japanese university students own smartphones. Screentime increased to approximately 200 minutes/day between 2013 and 2020. Previous studies have shown that screentime is shorter for people who maintain exercise habits than for people who do not maintain exercise habits, and is longer during weekends than weekdays. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of exercise habits and summer vacation with extended leisure time on the screentime and smartphone dependence of new university students in Japan. A questionnaire survey was administered to 1,500 new university students at three time points: before, during, and after summer vacation. We obtained data for daily exercise habits and screentime (total, entertainment, and social networking service). A total of 176 valid responses were received―101 and 75 from the exercise and non-exercise groups, respectively. The entertainment screentime showed an interaction effect: during summer vacation, it was 80.7 minutes shorter for the exercise group than for the non-exercise group. In the non-exercise group, it increased by 54.9 minutes during summer vacation compared with before vacation, and by 24.6 minutes after summer vacation compared with before vacation. This result suggests that exercise habits may help decrease students’ total screentime. Furthermore, these findings indicate a need for regular exercise habits among young people, and the potential benefit to be gained in their formation.

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