Multifaceted well-being experienced by community dwelling older adults engaged in volunteering activities of frailty prevention in Japan.

Aim: This study aims to elucidate what volunteering activities mean for older adults in Japan by analyzing their emotions and evaluations from hedonic (e.g., happiness), eudaimonic (e.

Research Participant Selection Bias in the Workshop Using Socially Assistive Robots for Older Adults and Its Effect on Population Representativeness.

Every research participant has their own personality characteristics. For example, older adults assisted by socially assistive robots (SAR) may have their own unique characteristics and may not be representative of the general population of older adults. In this research, we compared the average personality characteristics of participants in a workshop on robotics recruited directly through posting with those of older Japanese adults to examine participant selection bias and group representativeness for future study of SARs.

Occupational stress is associated with job performance among pregnant women in Japan: comparison with similar age group of women.

Background: Pregnancy results in physical and psychological changes in women; however, pregnant women hesitate to take a break from work even when they feel the need. Since working while physically ill leads to decreased job performance, it is important to determine the factors that lead to this phenomenon.

Aim: To study the occupational stress associated with job performance and absenteeism of pregnant women compared with non-pregnant women.

Eliciting a User's Preferences by the Self-Disclosure of Socially Assistive Robots in Local Households of Older Adults to Facilitate Verbal Human-Robot Interaction.

To realize a society in which older adults can live independently in their homes and familiar environments for as long as possible, their lives can be supported by providing appropriate technology. In this case, a new intervention for older people using socially assistive robots (SARs) is proposed; however, previous research has demonstrated that individual differences exist in the use and response to SAR interventions, and it has also been reported that SARs are not used by users in some cases. Therefore, in this study, we developed a self-disclosure function to promote continuous interaction with robots, using a Japanese corpus and self-disclosure items.

Decreased Frequency of Small Talk Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Deteriorated Mental Health: Findings From Longitudinal Surveys of Middle-Aged and Older People in Japan.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reduced opportunities for small talk. As small talk involves socializing, such deprivation can be stressful. This study examined the association between the change in the frequency of small talk from before to during the pandemic and the mental health of middle-aged and older people.

DNA extraction for short tandem repeat typing from mixed samples using anti-human leukocyte CD45 and ABO blood group antibodies.

DNA testing from mixed cell samples can be difficult to use successfully in criminal investigations. Here, we present a method for the extraction of DNA from mixed bloodstains involving plural contributors, after antibody-microbead captured cell separation. This method, together with the multiplex short tandem repeat typing presented, has proven highly successful in the recovery of DNA profiles corresponding to the ABO blood type.

What bereavement follow-up does family members request in Japanese palliative care units? A qualitative study.

Background: There is no standardized method by which bereavement care is offered by hospice/palliative care units (PCUs) in Japan.

Aim: To evaluate bereavement services provided by hospice/PCUs and clarify demands for bereavement care.

Design: Qualitative design based on semistructured interviews and content analysis.

Factors related to self-efficacy for social participation of people with mental illness.

This study investigated factors related to self-efficacy for social participation of individuals with severe mental illness (SMI). A total of 142 people with SMI recruited from a variety of rehabilitation programs completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire that assessed self-efficacy for social participation, general self-efficacy, self-esteem, general mental health, social support, and life satisfaction. Employed participants reported significantly greater self-efficacy for social participation, general self-efficacy, and life satisfaction than those who did not work.