Ishikawa Fumiyo

Research on caregiving experiences of families of patients with traumatic brain injuries has been limited to studies emphasizing negative aspects of care. During this study, families caring for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) shared their experiences, allowing us to collect basic data about factors related to their psychosocial adjustment. Fifteen primary caregivers were interviewed using semistructured interviews, and content analysis was performed on obtained data. One thousand eighteen recording units were grouped into seven categories: (1) spending time with the patient with TBI and understanding invisible disabilities, (2) evaluating medical professionals' handling of the case, (3) devoting oneself to caring for the patient with TBI despite feeling psychological distress, (4) accepting the disability and constructing a care system, (5) seeking out and participating in specialized treatment (rehabilitation) for TBIs, (6) hoping for better understanding and creation of an appropriate response system for TBIs, and (7) making efforts to influence people around the caregiver and those in similar circumstances to promote deeper understanding of TBIs.

This study focuses on the mother-son relationship of 13 mothers caring for single sons between the ages of 15 and 30 years who have higher brain dysfunction due to a traumatic brain injury. We aimed to elucidate the psychosocial adjustment process of mothers for 5 years following the injury to facilitate the social rehabilitation of both mother and son. Data obtained through a semistructured interview method were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. After 56 concepts were identified, 18 categories and then 8 core categories were semantically created. The 8 core categories were (a) avoid contact with son, (b) support son based on mother's own desire, (c) support son alone without external support, (d) realize mother's care limits and seek external support sources, (e) request and utilize external support, (f) support and work toward son's independence while monitoring his interactions with others, (g) mother considers own feelings and reenters society, and (h) strive for continued care of son with mother's acquired energy and efficient management skills. These were grouped into the following five stages: (a) avoidance, (b-c) closed, A support seeking, (e-f) withdrawal, and (g-h) reconstruction.

The purpose of this study was to identify the need for certified nurse specialists as felt by nurse administrators and further to gather basic data in preparation for a curriculum of CNS graduate programs. A postal questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of 300 nurse administrators in the Kanto Region.185 out of 300 questionnaires were returned(return rate:61.7%). The questionnaire consisted of 26 items concerning 5 key functions identified as essentials of CNS such as"patient care", "consultation", "education", "research"and"co-ordination". The findings were as follows:46.5% of nurse administrators expressed thier strong wish-es to introduce CNS to their hospitals while 45.9% of them wanted to do so if possible. They had high expectations of the CNS as providers of such functions as"patient care", "education"and"research". The nurse administrators who wished to introduce CNS to their hospitals seemed to have greater considerations for"humanity", "knowledge and technique"and"leadership". The above findings provided enough evidence to justify the need for the development of a suitable curriculum related to CNS programs.

In recent years, bone marrow transplant has been widely deployed as a radical form of therapy against leukemia, a disease that had been considered to be fatal. This study was conducted on five female and two male bone marrow transplant patients that participated in a meeting of blood disease patients in order to obtain suggestions for methods of assistance with respect to "sex life" and "return to society", which were indicated as being problems that can occur at high frequency in a previous survey of QOL associated with bone marrow transplant. The subjects were interviewed regarding specific problems relating to "sex life" and "return to society" following their discharge from the hospital, the findings from which are reported below. 1. With respect to infertility and sex, a lack of accommodation by the practitioner before and after transplant had an effect on psychological problems encountered by bone marrow transplant patients following their discharge from the hospital. 2. Infertility was not limited to just being a somatic problem, but also had an effect on the desire and awareness of later feelings of love and affection on the part of the bone marrow transplant patient. 3. Somatic, psychological and social problems affected the amount of time required until the patient was able to return to society as well as the workload of the patient following that return.