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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected not only individuals but also families. The purpose of this study was to clarify the temporal changes in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on entire families with older adults susceptible to infection living on small islands in Japan over the duration of the pandemic. Family ethnographic research was conducted from 2021 to 2023, using the Concentric Sphere Family Environment Theory as the theoretical framework. Formal interviews were conducted with 20 families. In addition, data from informal interviews, participant observation and other sources were compiled into field notes. All data on the impact on the entire family were extracted and content analysis was conducted. Six categories (family internal environmental system, family system unit, micro system, macro system, supra system, and family chrono-environment system) and a total of 85 subcategories were extracted. The results show that COVID-19 exerted not only negative but also positive impacts on the entire family, and their temporal changes are clarified. The impact on families is believed to have been influenced by the family external environment, such as increases and decreases of infection cases or events that occurred outside the family. The knowledge acquired from these studies will help healthcare professionals in providing appropriate family support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In Japan's forest areas, cultural capital and older adults play key roles in helping to sustain the community. The purpose was to explore cultural values/beliefs related to culturally congruent health activities among older adults in forest communities. Method: The qualitative ethnonursing research method was used. Data were collected through fieldwork and key informants' interviews (n = 14) over 1 year. The setting was a traditional village with 80% forest cover. Results: Findings included two universal cultural values/beliefs, which were "community identity as a community member" and "our cohesion and connection as community members." Additionally, two diverse cultural values/beliefs were found: "gender-based differences" and "differences between those having experience working outside the forest community and those without this experience." These were related to community-based health activities. Discussion: These values/beliefs were suggested to develop a multilayered network around health activities in order to prevent functional disabilities among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single‐parent families with disabled children are obliged to take special care of children and shoulder excessive burdens. This study aimed to clarify the family functioning of child‐rearing single‐parent families with children attending special needs schools in Japan. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with qualitative content analysis utilized for data analysis. Results: The results of the data analysis clarified nine categories: excessive concentration of family functioning on mothers, and adjustments in the family functioning they perform; creation of a family environment friendly to disabled children and their families; satisfaction with family needs by gaining support from the neighborhood and social resources; anxieties related to children's disabilities; promotion of a better understanding of disability; unavoidable reduction in the amount of time shared by the family; efforts to maintain an infrastructure for health care; selection and effective use of a special needs school; and strengthened bonds between families with disabled children. Conclusions: Receiving adequate support from the school is of great assistance in enabling families to maintain their family functioning. This demonstrates that, through the use of the time while the child attends a special needs school, the family can accomplish family functioning, contributing to a fulfilling family life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The older adult population is increasing in number, and elder abuse is expected to become a more pressing problem. Developing tools to assess the presence and severity of elder abuse is important to both effectively prevent this abuse and provide increased support for families. Purpose: This study was intended to test the validity of an Assessment Tool for Domestic Elder Abuse (ATDEA). The items that constitute this tool were derived from a literature review. Methods: Two rounds of self-administered questionnaire surveys were conducted with nurses working at home-visit nursing stations. Round 1 was used to evaluate the face validity, and Round 2 was used to test the content using the content validity index (CVI). Results: Two hundred forty nurses participated in the two studies. In Round 1, 56 nurses evaluated 38 items derived from a literature review, resulting in the development of a 36-item ATDEA. In Round 2, 184 nurses evaluated the content validity of the 36-item ATDEA. The Item-CVI (I-CVI) scores ranged from.61 to 1. Twenty-eight of the items met or exceeded the I-CVI threshold of.78, whereas the eight items assessing self-neglect did not. The overall Scale-CVI score for the assessment tool was.90, which met the threshold of.90. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: The results of validity testing established the preliminary validity of this assessment tool. In addition, as self-neglect is known to damage the well-being of older adults, six of the eight items assessing self-neglect were retained in the ATDEA despite their failure to meet the threshold I-CVI of.78. The remaining two self-neglect items were not included in the ATDEA because of excessively low I-CVI scores (<.70). Thus, the final version of the ATDEA includes 34 items. The authors recommend that nursing professionals use the ATDEA as a checklist to assess the presence of elder abuse and to discern the subtypes and severity of this abuse. When evaluating elder abuse, the higher the degree of severity, the greater the urgency to provide support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]