ObjectiveThis study aimed to elucidate the actual activities conducted by public health nurses during their dispatch and their health status during and after dispatch to the three prefectures most severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.SampleA survey request was sent to a total of 2,237 facilities. Of these, 778 facilities returned questionnaires from dispatched public health nurses.ResultsThe participants of this study were 1,570 dispatched health nurses who participated in activities mostly at evacuation centers, followed by evacuees’ homes. After dispatch, an earlier postdisaster phase at the start of dispatch was independently associated with poor subjective well-being, low mood, worsened sleep state, and intense fatigue. Work hours per day were associated with poor subjective well-being and intense fatigue after dispatch.ConclusionResults suggest that the factor that most strongly affected the postdispatch health of the nurses was the phase that they began their dispatch.

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There is a high prevalence of smoking among nursing personnel, despite the fact that nursing is a health care profession. In Japan there are 4 types of licensed nursing professionals. However, the prevalence of smoking among different types of licensed personnel has not been clarified. We attempted to clarify the prevalence of smoking among the various types of licensed nursing personnel and the factors associated with it. Among the members of the Japanese Nursing Association, 6000 nurses were randomly selected. The participants were sent a questionnaire on smoking habits, personal characteristics, lifestyle habits, and employment status by mail. Current smokers accounted for 1.3% of public health nurses, 4.0% of midwives, 8.2% of registered nurses, and 16.3% of assistant nurses. The license type of nursing personnel was a factor significantly associated with current smoking.