Nurses’ work motivation impacts their job satisfaction and work engagement, affecting their quality of care. Work motivation, a personal resource, can be categorized into intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, each of which may function differently in the job demands–resources (JD–R) model. To study the effect of nurses’ intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation on work engagement in long-term care (LTC) facilities, we randomly selected 1200 facilities from 6055 LTC facilities in eastern Japan. Two nurses from each facility completed a self-report questionnaire—newly developed for this study for evaluating intrinsic and extrinsic work motivation—to assess their work engagement, job satisfaction, and work motivation. Multiple regression analysis of 561 valid questionnaires investigated the relationship between work motivation and work engagement, indicating that intrinsic work motivation, job satisfaction, and age had a significant positive effect on work engagement, while extrinsic work motivation had no significant effect. However, half the nurses chose to work because of extrinsic work motivation, explaining the high turnover rate of nursing staff in LTC facilities. Findings indicate the importance of measures to foster nurses’ intrinsic motivation to improve work engagement. Further research should investigate how to improve the intrinsic motivation of nurses working in LTC facilities.

This study aimed to examine foreign-educated male nurses’ motivation to emigrate for work, as well as explore the contextual factors that shape their career trajectories. To that end, we interviewed Chinese male nurses working in Japan. No previous study has examined why male nurses seek employment abroad or the problems they face. This study employed a qualitative and inductive research design. Sixteen Chinese male nurses working in Eastern and Western Japan were recruited using convenience and snowball sampling methods and were interviewed via video calls. Co-researchers of both genders from different occupational and cultural backgrounds coded the findings and identified common themes in participants’ responses. We analysed our findings vis-à-vis various theoretical perspectives and developed an explanatory model. Participants' experience as nurses in Japan ranged from six months to eight years. The findings confirmed that factors identified in earlier reports influenced nurses' motivation and work. Two new factors emerged: influence by others and social reasons. Moreover, two factors that affected male nurses’ motivation to work abroad, namely, external factors and the influence of others, were identified. Social reasons were identified as a pull factor. Our study provides valuable insights into recruiting and retaining foreign male nurses in developed countries facing issues such as ageing populations and nursing shortages. This study has important implications for nursing management. Our findings highlight the importance of orienting foreign-educated nurses regarding the local work culture to increase the recruitment and retention of foreign talent. Moreover, enhanced salary packages and benefits to improve motivation can lead to improved job performance, which can positively impact patient and safety outcomes.

To examine the cross-sectional associations of hemopexin, muscle quality, and sarcopenia status with cognitive function among older Japanese adults with cognitive impairment, and to explore the potential sex-specific differences. A total of 580 older adults (372 women, 208 men; mean age 83.3 ± 6.2 years) who presented with cognitive impairment at the Kyoto Dementia Comprehensive Center between 2018 and 2022 were enrolled. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Hemopexin level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Muscle quality was evaluated via phase angle (PhA) and grip strength, and sarcopenia status was defined using the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia criteria. Multiple linear regression models, including sex-stratified analyses, were conducted to determine the relationships of these variables with MMSE scores. Higher hemopexin levels (β = 1.19, p = 0.017), PhA (β = 0.59, p = 0.005), and grip strength (β = 0.14, p < 0.001) were independently associated with better MMSE scores, whereas sarcopenia was negatively linked to MMSE scores (β = − 2.28, p < 0.001). Notably, sex-stratified models indicated that hemopexin positively predicted MMSE scores in men but not in women; meanwhile, sarcopenia showed a stronger negative impact in women. Educational attainment also displayed a significant positive association with cognitive performance in both sexes. In this cross-sectional study of older Japanese adults with cognitive impairment, hemopexin levels and muscle quality emerged as important correlates of cognitive function, particularly in men, while sarcopenia was negatively linked to cognition.

Background: Detecting life disability is crucial in diagnosing dementia; however, early detection has proven challenging with previous assessment scales. This study focused on an individual's ability to use household appliances as a means of detecting life disability. Objective: The objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to compare the ability to use household appliances between the non-dementia and dementia groups, (2) to determine whether the level of life disability based on the ability to use appliances is at the level of diagnosed dementia or non-dementia, and (3) to explore the impact of age and gender on the ability to use appliances. Methods: We selected 13 essential household appliances for elderly individuals and proposed an instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) assessment tool to evaluate their usage. Our sample consisted of 98 patients with cognitive impairment, divided into a non-dementia group (N = 34) and a dementia group (N = 64). Most participants in the dementia group had Alzheimer's disease or related conditions. Through multiple logistic regression, the model equation aimed to determine whether a subject's functional disability indicated a potential dementia diagnosis. Results: The optimal model equation identified the microwave oven and air conditioner as key factors, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.78. Additionally, analysis by age and gender enhanced the discriminative power of the results. Conclusions: Our proposed scoring system can efficiently determine the degree of life disability by assessing appliance usage, demonstrating comparable discriminatory ability to existing scales.