[An investigation of social support networks for working mothers].

The purpose of our study was to investigate the social support network for working mothers, including physical, emotional and informational sources, and to discuss strategies to reduce stress caused by their multiple role strain. We asked 18 participants to fill in a questionnaire and conducted semi-constructed interviews. The results of this study showed that more than half of the working mothers want to continue their career because of self growth and the rewards from their job.

A very low level of magnetic field exposure does not affect a participant's mental fatigue and stress as much as VDT work.

Exposure to Magnetic Fields (MF) may affect the health of workers in an occupational environment. However, there is no clear evidence that the emission of MF from the visual display terminals (VDT) affects workers'mental status or induces stress in office environments. The purpose of our study was to investigate whether exposure to the MF during VDT work affects mental fatigue or induces stress related to psycho-physiological changes in workers.

Defining the roles and functions of occupational health nurses in Japan: results of job analysis.

The purposes of this study were to obtain descriptive information about the job duties and tasks of Japanese occupational health nurses and to compare the roles and functions of occupational health nurses in the United States and Japan. A modified version of a job analysis survey developed by the American Board for Occupational Health Nurses was used to collect data. The findings indicated 62% of Japanese occupational health nurses perform direct care roles, approximately half perform educating or advising and consulting roles, and approximately 40% perform management roles.

[Study on lower back pain in home helpers and development of materials for occupational health education].

People who are engaged in home health care services often have to transfer clients while in a half standing posture using repetitious movement including gravitational changes. Transferring heavy patients at homes for the severely mental and physical handicapped is equivalent to the care giving work, listed in the "guideline for prevention of lower back pain in work places" (1994/9/6). The purpose of this study was to investigate incidences of lower back pain and injuries among home helpers as well as to determine the relationship between their level of protective knowledge and prevalence of lower back pain.

[Students awareness of health teaching: evaluation of "health education" course and the occupational health nursing practice].

The "health education" course is an important part of the baccalaureate curriculum in nursing. It is essential to teach students effective health education in a client oriented way. In order to improve the quality and content of this course, we extracted students descriptions from records of 44 students who had carried out group health education during nursing practice for the occupational health nursing course.