The reality of occupational harm incurred by Japanese home health care nurses, the hazardous situations they face, and protective measures: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To gain a comprehensive understanding of the occupational hazards encountered by home health care nurses in Japan and to elucidate the reality of harm they incur, the hazardous situations, and the protective measures taken. Methods:A questionnaire survey of managers of home health care nursing agencies in Japan was conducted, and 355 valid responses were obtained. The survey questions concerned the occupational hazards experienced by home health care nursing staff.

[Evaluation of the "Health management guideline on occupational allergy in nursing occupations and its primary prevention" by nursing managers].

Objective: Individuals in nursing occupations are often exposed to various materials such as rubber products and drugs, and they comprise a population at high risk of developing occupational allergies. We therefore created a "Health management guideline on occupational allergy in nursing occupations and its primary prevention" (hereinafter referred to as "HMG") and conducted a questionnaire survey to elucidate its potential use and the challenges of implementing it in clinical practice.

Subjects And Methods: The HMG includes the following content: A.

Effect of a hand massage with a warm hand bath on sleep and relaxation in elderly women with disturbance of sleep: A crossover trial.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effects of a hand massage with a warm hand bath on sleep, autonomic nervous activity, subjective sleep quality, and relaxation in elderly women with sleep disturbance.

Methods: A crossover design was used. Participants were assigned to two groups: a structured control first and intervention second condition, or an intervention first and control second condition.

Effects of a warm hand bath on the blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort in healthy women: An experimental cross-over trial.

Aim: The present study was conducted in order to clarify the effects of a warm hand bath at 40°C for 10 min on the blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort in healthy women.

Methods: The study's participants were 40 healthy adult women who were randomly assigned to either a structured hand bath first and no hand bath second (Group A) or to no hand bath first and a hand bath second (Group B). The blood flow in the shoulder, skin and deep body temperature, autonomic nervous activity, and subjective comfort then were recorded in all the participants.

[Bacterial contamination in an egg-breaking factory and its control].

From January to November, 2003, bacterial contamination was surveyed in a small egg-breaking factory that produced non pasteurized liquid egg. Test egg samples were taken at various stages of the egg processing operation. Salmonella Enteritidis was isolated from liquid egg yolk and liquid egg white on October, but was not found in any other samples (50 liquid egg samples, 21 containers and 94 attached production facilities and gloves).