A survey on the Actual Condition of Occupational Health Nursing in Japan. Part I Occupational Health Nurses’ Practices

Introduction
It has been recognized that occupational health nurses’ (OHNs’) practices are becoming more important in Japan. Yet, in nearly a decade, few studies exist concerning OHNs’ practices. The purpose of this study was to clarify the practices of OHNs in Japan.

Methods
A questionnaire was sent to 2,077 OHNs belonging to Japan Society for Occupational Health. The response was 846 (40.7%). 91 were excluded from the study. The majority of those excluded were retired, or had returned incomplete questionnaires. The remaining 755 OHNs were examined. The questionnaire included items about: individual factors such as sex, age, and occupational qualifications; questions about work conditions such as industrial sector, number of employees, number of colleagues, income, presence of OH physicians; questions about nursing practices such as workplace surveillance, attending meetings of OHS, carrying out the annual health check-up for workers, providing education about health and safety, practices related to mental health, and commitment to the work environment and work conditions. The research period was from 1st November to 3rd December 2010. Analyses were performed using SAS ver. 9.1. The approval of the Ethics Committee of Yokkaichi Nursing and Medical Care University was received before the study was conducted.

Results
95.9% of OHNs reported that they provided health guidance, 92.6% provided information or made documents related to health and safety, and 92.3% coordinated staff between departments.

Discussion
OHNs’ practices have been expanding and have focused the expertise of OH Nursing compared to ten years ago. One of the reasons for this progress may be increasing participation in postgraduate education for OHNs provided by the Japan Society for Occupational Health.