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With the recent impact by the COVID‐19 pandemic, nursing research has gone through unexpected changes across the globe. The purpose of this special report is to present the commonalities in the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on nursing research across four countries, including the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, and one region, that is, Hong Kong, and to make recommendations for future nursing research during the immediate postpandemic period and future pandemic situations. To identify the commonalities, seven researchers/leaders from the five countries/regions had discussions through 3 days of an international workshop. The content for this discussion paper derived from: (a) the exemplars/cases of the COVID‐19 impact on the research process, (b) researchers/leaders' presentations on the COVID‐19 impact, and (c) memos from the workshop. The materials were analyzed using a simple content analysis. The commonalities included: (a) "a heavy emphasis on teaching and fluctuating productivity," (b) "increased funding opportunities and governmental support," (c) "gendered experience complicated by professional differences," (d) "delays and changes/modifications in research process," (e) "limited research settings and difficulties in getting access," and (f) "increased online dissemination activities with positive changes in the image of nursing." With all collective wisdom that nurse researchers have obtained during the COVID‐19 pandemic, nursing research will evolve again for the successful future of the nursing discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite the importance of research in the discipline of nursing, current trends in nursing research have rarely been discussed across countries. The purpose of this article was to identify current trends in nursing research across five countries, including the United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong, in order to provide directions for future global nursing research. Organizing Construct: A discussion article. Methods: To identify the current trends, seven leaders from the five countries had discussions through a series of workshops and conference presentations. After the most recent conference, all the leaders reflected for a month on their presentations and compiled the exemplars and cases from their experience and the existing literature in individual countries into a table. The tables and supporting references were collected at the completion of the reflection period. Then, the PowerPoint (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) slideshows of the conference presentations by the leaders and the collected tables were analyzed using a content analysis. Findings: Six themes reflecting the current trends in nursing research were extracted: (a) demographic alterations; (b) increasing diversities and globalization; (c) technology innovation; (d) individualized or personal care and population health initiatives; (e) health policies and regulations; and (f) nursing workforce changes. Conclusions: Future directions for nursing research across the countries were proposed: (a) cost‐effectiveness research; (b) implementation science; (c) data science; (d) training of the future generation of nurse researchers; (e) population health; and (f) team science. Clinical Relevance: This topic could be applied to any clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Because virtually no theories were available to explain unique characteristics of Asian women's leadership in nursing, a middle-range theory on women's leadership in Asian culture was previously published. To reflect recent political and social changes in different countries, there is a necessity to refine the theory. The purpose of this article is to present the refined middle-range theory on Asian women's leadership in nursing. Methodology: Using an integrative approach, the theory was further developed based on two major sources: literature reviews and exemplars/cases from six different countries. Results: The Refined Middle-Range Theory on Women's Leadership in Asian Culture has two main domains: (a) leadership frames and (b) leadership contexts. The domain of leadership contexts has been extended with two additional main concepts including demographic contexts and health workforce/system contexts. Discussion: The refined theory is expected to guide Asian women's leadership in nursing across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Asian cultures reflect patriarchal cultural values and attitudes, which likely have influenced women leaders in their countries differently from women in Western cultures. However, virtually no leadership theories have been developed to reflect the experiences and development of nursing leaders from Asian cultures. The purpose of this article is to present an emerging integrated middle-range theory on Asian women’s leadership in nursing. Methodology: Using an integrative approach, the theory was developed based on three major sources: the leadership frames of Bolman and Deal, literature reviews, and exemplars/cases from five different countries. Results: The theory includes two main domains (leadership frames and leadership contexts). The domain of leadership frames includes human resources/networks, structure/organization, national/international politics, and symbols. The domain of leadership contexts includes cultural contexts, sociopolitical contexts, and gendered contexts. Discussion: This theory will help understand nursing leadership in Asian cultures and provide directions for future nurse leaders in this ever-changing globalized world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:A program fostering self-management for the elderly was implemented and the effects of the program and their continuities were assessed.Methods:Subjects consisted of 19 males and 131 females (average age, 73.1 ± 7.4; range, 60–94 years). The intervention program consisted of the collective experience learning and private consultation. The collective experience learnings included; (1) monitoring the oral condition and practicing oral self-care, (2) monitoring the oral function and practicing oral exercises, and (3) group discussion on continuing oral self-care. Outcomes were evaluated at the beginning and the end of the intervention program, and three months after the investigation by the scores in; (1) oral self-care (2) oral condition, i.e., decayed teeth, community periodontal index (CPI), deposits of plaque and dental calculus, (3) oral function such as RSST, oral diadochokinesis, (4) QOL (SF-8 v2™, and GOHAI), and (5) cognitive function (MMSE-J). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects, and this study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Hyogo.Results and Discussion:At three months after intervention, 124 subjects continued participating and 88 subjects (71%) completed all data. On the oral self-care, subjects cleaned their teeth more often and longer than before (P< 0.001). The use of dental floss and interdental brushing significantly increased in number (P< 0.001), and 67 participants (54%) visited the dentist during the program. CPI and deposits of plaque were significantly reduced after intervention (P< 0.001). The scores of oral function also significantly improved (P< 0.001–0.05). The scores of QOL (physical health), oral QOL and cognitive function significantly improved (P< 0.001–0.05). These results suggest that this program not only promotes oral self-care, resulting in good oral health conditions, but also improves cognitive functions of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents information on a study in which the dietary condition of 71 citizens compared to that of 186 slaves from the Yin-Shang period of China, was reconstructed through an examination of tooth to denture base discrepancy. Prevalence of the discrepancy in the Yin-Shang period; Methodology of the study; Results obtained; Why the difference in diet may not have been fundamental.

Examines skulls from the Chinese Yin-Shang period, focusing on dental diseases. Origin of the skulls; Types of dental diseases that were identified; Materials and methods used in testing; Results of experiments done on skull samples.

This longitudinal study aimed to clarify the relationship of oral health in infancy with that in adulthood among participants who were the subjects of the oral health promotion project (OHPP) conducted in Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, since 1984. Twenty-seven subjects, around 35 years of age, were examined for dental caries, periodontal diseases (community periodontal index), dental plaque, occlusion, and bite-force and compared with those at 4 and 13–15 years of age. The dental caries status and maximum bite force in adulthood was significantly reflected for those at 4 and 13–15 years of age (p < 0.05). CPI in adulthood was related to the dental caries status at 4 and 13–15 years of age but not to the gingival score at 4 years of age, and it was weakly related to the gingival score at 13–15 years (r = 0.264, p > 0.05). Most of the normal occlusion at 4 years of age became normal permanent occlusion in adulthood (88.9%). Most of the cases involving the discrepancy factor retained the same condition in both the deciduous and permanent dentitions (83.3%) (p < 0.001). Those who participated in the OHPP soon after birth showed significantly fewer DMFT (p < 0.05) compared with those who did not. This study revealed that oral health at 4 years of age was related to that in adulthood, suggesting that fostering good oral health soon after birth is of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of food consistency on health and related factors among residents in welfare facilities for seniors (n = 227; mean age, 86.2 ± 8.0 years; 78.9% female). Residents who ate regular food had a lower incidence of fever during the 3-month period (p < 0.001) and consumed more calories (1325.97 ± 220.2 kcal) than those who ate chopped (1125.0 ± 256.8 kcal), paste (1122.0 ± 288.5 kcal), and gastric tube food (812.5 ± 150.7 kcal) (p < 0.001). Modifying a resident's food by making it softer and finer did not reduce the incidence of choking. Logistic regression analysis (backward elimination method) revealed four factors related to eating regular food: vitality index, appetite, number of remaining teeth, and choking frequency. Causal relationships were not obtained because this was a cross-sectional study. The findings of this study suggest that a regular consistency of food positively influences the health of older individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of preparing for disasters, care information packages for the support of patients with cancer and their families during disaster situations were developed in our previous study, and were provided via the internet with a questionnaire asking the face validity and the usefulness of such information. Thirty replies were received. Most subjects thought the care packages were appropriate and useful in the actual settings, however 43.3% of them thought the amount of information was excessive. Many comments and suggestions on the care information packages also could be obtained via the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model for measuring the quality of nursing care has been developed in Japan since 1993 by Katada. Then a self evaluation model was developed in 2002 by Abe et al. This model consisted of three dimensions: structure, process, and outcome. Each dimension was constructed from measurements of six domains which applicants categorized previously, such as “understandi individuality”, “patient empowerment”, “family care”, “direct care”, “medical team coordination”, and “incident prevention” In this study, it has been developed and posted on a web site for inspection and examined for its usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The development of nursing leaders is an important topic in changing healthcare environments. Successful nursing leadership is critical to the reconstruction, implementation, and evaluation of healthcare systems worldwide. However, the characteristics of successful nursing leadership remain unclear, especially in a global context. Furthermore, despite the growing importance of cultural intelligence, cross-cultural concepts of successful nursing leadership have been inadequately addressed in the literature., Purpose: This study was designed to identify the characteristics of successful leadership in nursing from the perspective of Asian leaders in four countries (United States, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan) and to make recommendations for successful leadership in nursing in the future., Methods: A qualitative approach employing five strategies, including in-depth discussions through face-to-face and email discussions, an integrated literature review using multiple databases, responses to 10 topics related to nursing leadership, and written note summaries of the characteristics of successful leadership, was used in this study. A total of 10 nursing leaders from four countries were recruited as participants using snowball sampling. The collected qualitative data were analyzed using line-by-line coding and simple content analysis to extract the characteristics of successful leadership in nursing., Results: The final sample included seven nursing leaders aged between 55 and 70 years. All of the participants were in nursing leadership positions at schools/colleges of nursing or professional organizations for at least two decades and had extensive leadership experience through their schools/colleges, professional organizations, and/or governments. Five key themes related to the characteristics of successful leadership were identified from the participants: (a) culturally and historically prescribed, (b) overcoming gendered experience, (c) equipped with good character, (d) guiding with a vision, and (e) with contextualized leadership., Conclusions/implications for Practice: Five characteristics of successful leadership were identified from the perspective of Asian nursing leaders. All of the participants recommended that successful nursing leadership be based on contextual leadership and that successful nursing leadership help meet rapidly changing needs, enable mutual trust, and actively commit and complete necessary risks. Moreover, future successful leadership should have a clear vision and strongly guide the implementation of changes as well as be equipped with cultural intelligence. Finally, successful nursing leadership should be based on ethical, trustable, and humane behaviors while promptly and adequately responding to the changing needs of their institutions/organizations. Cross-regional research on successful nursing leadership is essential to enrich the global evidence and knowledge on developing the next generation of nursing leaders., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The raison d'être of nursing is caring for human beings. Mainly due to its close link to the nursing discipline's raison d'être, "caring," translational science is recently getting more attention from nursing scientists across the globe. This paper is to discuss the current status of translational science in nursing across four countries (the USA, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan). The data used in this discussion paper included: (a) written notes on issues related translational research/science in individual countries; (b) written memos on exemplars/cases from their own experiences; and (c) summaries of literature reviews. The data analysis was conducted using a simple content analysis. Four themes reflecting the current status of translational science across the countries were identified: (a) "contextualized in unique culture and history of nursing"; (b) "connecting basic science to clinical practice"; (c) "an extension of evidence-based practice"; and (d) "highly promoted, but still minimal translation of nursing knowledge.", (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The process by which stroke survivors move toward health while facing various difficulties can be construed as a "transition." Importantly, nurses need to understand and support this state of transition effectively. This study developed a situation-specific theory to explain post-stroke transition by integrating the findings of a qualitative study that explored the rehabilitation experiences of stroke survivors with dysphagia with a scoping review of qualitative studies using the theoretical framework of transition theory. This theory will help understand the transitions that stroke survivors with dysphagia undergo during recovery and provide a framework for exploring nursing care to support healthy transitions., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The purpose of this article is to discuss the current status of research mentoring in nursing across 4 countries (the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan) and to make suggestions for future research mentoring. Seven leaders reflected on the current status of research mentoring in nursing, provided exemplars/cases from their own experiences, and their reviews of the literature. Six themes were discussed: ( a ) "culturally defined"; ( b ) "professionally contextualized"; ( c ) "teaching research integrity and research practice"; ( d ) "with mutual respect and care"; ( e ) "based on effective communication"; and ( f ) "supported by institutional and governmental commitment and infrastructure.", (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Japan is a superaging society unparalleled in the world. Elderly people who need medical care do not receive adequate support in the community. As a new service to address this issue, a small-scale multifunctional in-home care nursing service called Kantaki was created in 2012. Kantaki, in collaboration with a primary physician, operates 24 hours a day and provides various nursing services (home visits, home care, day care, and overnight stays) to older people living in the community. The Japanese Nursing Association is working hard to promote this system; however, its low utilization rate is an issue., Objective: This study aimed to determine factors influencing the utilization rate of Kantaki facilities., Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. A questionnaire on the operation of Kantaki was sent to all administrators of Kantaki facilities operating in Japan from October 1 to December 31, 2020. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with a high utilization rate., Results: Responses from 154 of the 593 facilities were analyzed. The average utilization rate for all valid responding facilities was 79.4%. The average number of actual users and the break-even point were almost equal, resulting in little surplus profit from facility operations. A multiple regression analysis showed that factors that had a significant impact on the utilization rate included the break-even point, a surplus of users relative to the break-even point (ie, the margin of revenues), the number of months in office of the administrator, the type of corporation (ie, nonprofit), and Kantaki's profit from operating home-visit nursing offices. The break-even point, a surplus of users relative to the break-even point, and the number of months in office of the administrator were robust. In addition, support for reducing the burden on family helpers, a service sought by the system, significantly and negatively affected the utilization rate. In the analysis that removed the most influential factors, the cooperation of the home-visit nursing office, Kantaki's profit from operating the home-visit nursing office, and the number of full-time care workers were significantly related., Conclusions: To improve the utilization rate, managers need to stabilize their organization and increase profitability. However, a positive relationship was found between the break-even point and utilization rate, suggesting that simply increasing users did not contribute to cost reduction. Moreover, providing services that meet the needs of individual clients may result in lower utilization rates. These results, which are inconsistent with common sense, reflect the divergence between the assumptions underlying the system's design and actual conditions. To solve these issues, institutional reforms, such as an increase in nursing care fee points, may be necessary., (©Hiroshi Ono, Kuniko Haga, Eiko Nakanishi, Rika Watanabe, Masashi Manabe, Kenji Awamura, Takanori Kawano, Manabu Nii, Makiko Muya, Reiko Sakashita. Originally published in the Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal (https://apinj.jmir.org), 09.05.2023.)

The purpose of this article is to identify the commonalities in nursing perspectives among 6 countries/regions (United States, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand). Nine leaders from the 6 countries/regions reflected on what nursing perspectives were in their own countries/regions and provided exemplars/cases from their own experiences and literature reviews. The data were analyzed using a content analysis. Seven themes were extracted: (a) "embedded in cultural and historical contexts"; (b) "based on philosophical pluralism"; (c) "women-centered perspectives"; (d) "care-oriented holistic views"; (e) "ethical and humane views"; (f) "respecting and advocating"; and (g) "considering diversities.", (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a life-enhancement program designed to focus on dining conditions in welfare facilities for seniors living in Japan. Effectiveness was specifically evaluated based on whether improvements were achieved in (1) nutritional status, (2) oral health, (3) frequency of fever, and (4) vitality of appetite across three sites. As part of a comprehensive-care initiative that began with dining support, the program consisted of two main components: (1) a 3-month intensive program comprised of (a) collective experiential learning for residents and staff (including nutritionists, nurses, and physiotherapists) and (b) a tailor-made individual program for residents followed by (2) a 3-month continuation program. Participants included 168 individuals (31 males and 137 females) from a total of three facilities (average age was 85.9 [60-104] years). Results showed that the intensive program significantly improved nutritional status ( e.g. , BMI, caloric intake, and water intake; P  < 0.000-0.005) and tongue movement ( P  < 0.000) while significantly reducing dental-plaque and tongue-coating indices ( P  < 0.000). Significant improvements were also achieved for degree of appetite and vitality indices ( P  < 0.000-0.001). However, incidences of fever were not reduced. These findings indicate that the program effectively improved nutritional status, oral health, vitality, and appetite. However, these effects did not sufficiently remain once the program was finished, thus suggesting the need for a continuous intervention., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning the research, authorship, or publication of this article., (Asian/Pacific Island Nursing Journal, Volume 5(2): 63–72, ©Author(s) 2020, https://kahualike.manoa.hawaii.edu/apin/.)

It is suspected that oral bacteria are transferred to the liquid baby formula through the artificial nipple and multiply in the bottle after feeding. In the present study, in order to understand the influence of bacteria on liquid baby formula after feeding, the transfer of oral bacteria through artificial nipples and their survival in liquid baby formula were examined immediately after drinking as well as after storage at 4°C for 3 h. Four healthy human subjects (20-23 years old) were asked to drink liquid baby formula (Aptamil ® , ca. 50 mL) from baby bottles using artificial nipples. Samples of the liquid baby formula (immediately after drinking and 3 h later) were inoculated onto blood agar plates and incubated anaerobically at 37°C for 7 days. Salivary samples from each subject and 6 newborn infants were also cultured. Genomic DNA was extracted from individual colonies, and bacterial species were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The mean amounts of bacteria (CFU/mL) were (3.2 ± 3.0) ×10 4 and (3.4 ± 3.3) ×10 4 immediately after drinking and 3 h later, respectively. Streptococcus (41.6 and 40.5%), Actinomyces (24.3 and 21.5%) and Veillonella (16.2 and 11.0%) were recovered from the samples immediately after drinking and 3 h later, respectively. On the other hand, Streptococcus (38.9%), Actinomyces (17.1%), Neisseria (9.1%), Prevotella (6.9%), Rothia (6.9%) and Gemella (5.1%) were predominant in the saliva of adult subjects, and Streptococcus (65.2%), Staphylococcus (18.5%), Gemella (8.2%) and Rothia (5.4%) were predominant in the saliva of infant subjects. From these findings, oral bacteria, e.g., Streptococcus, Gemella and Rothia, were found to transfer into the liquid baby formula through artificial nipples, and the bacterial composition in the remaining liquid baby formula was found to resemble that of human saliva. The bacterial levels were similar between immediately after drinking and when stored at 4°C for 3 h, suggesting that the remaining liquid baby formula may be preserved in a refrigerator for a specified amount of time.

Mutual respect and harmonious relationships between people can be viewed as the fundamental spirit of Japanese culture. Japanese leaders try to keep the peace in human relations, rather than to achieve a goal. They become leaders due to internal and external conditions, rather than their own abilities. Japanese society has been basically male-dominated though the ratio of women leaders has increased recently. Higher education and development of academic societies in nursing have been very successful during the last two decades and nursing is one of the most trusted professions in Japan. However, some Japanese people still think a nurse is just an assistant to doctors. The purpose of this paper is to clarify features of women's leadership in Japan from the nursing point of view. In Japanese culture, leaders need to possess human resource leadership as an indispensable element, while good leaders may have advantages in all four frames of leadership including structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames. Japanese organizations are also supported by excellent followership which might be influenced by the structure of Japanese society which is called "the vertical society" where leaders are fostered from among followers. What is important in Japanese leadership is to have a vision that leadership leads to the happiness of all people in a shareable form., Competing Interests: The author declared no potential conflicts of interest concerning the research, authorship, or publication of this article.

With the aim of preparing for disasters, care information packages for the support of patients with cancer and their families during disaster situations were developed in our previous study, and were provided via the internet with a questionnaire asking the face validity and the usefulness of such information. Thirty replies were received. Most subjects thought the care packages were appropriate and useful in the actual settings, however 43.3% of them thought the amount of information was excessive. Many comments and suggestions on the care information packages also could be obtained via the internet.

A model for measuring the quality of nursing care has been developed in Japan since 1993 by Katada. Then a self evaluation model was developed in 2002 by Abe et al. This model consisted of three dimensions: structure, process, and outcome. Each dimension was constructed from measurements of six domains which applicants categorized previously, such as "understanding individuality", "patient empowerment", "family care", "direct care", "medical team coordination", and "incident prevention" In this study, it has been developed and posted on a web site for inspection and examined for its usability.