The shortage of physicians in Japan has been a social issue since the new postgraduate clinical training system started in 2004.The difficult working conditions of hospital physicians may influence this problem.We used a questionnaire to investigate the working hours, on-call frequency, work contents, and mental health of supervisors at various residency training hospitals in Japan.
1) We surveyed 479 physicians who worked at hospitals certified as residency-training facilities and who participated in a development workshop for supervisors or for residency training program managers held at 8 locations in 2004.
2) We found that supervisors worked, on average, more than 100 hours longer than statutory working hours per month and that more than one-fifth of supervisors worked more than 160 hours longer.
3) As for mental health, more than one-fifth of supervisors showed a depressive tendency.
4) These results suggest that the working conditions of supervisors at residency-training hospitals in Japan should be improved by reducing their clinical duties or managing their work content.

The new postgraduate clinical training system that started in 2004 is expected to have positive effects on the health of residents and the quality of treatment they provide.We performed a survey to examine the effects of this training system on the mental health of residents.
1) The subjects were first-year residents (458 in 2003 and 549 in 2004) who had started postgraduate clinical training at 38 hospitals in Japan.Self-administered questionnaires, which included items about working conditions and mental health, were mailed to each subject.
2) The mean score on the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire was 4.8 both before and after the new training system was introduced.The mean Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score was 15.3 before and 14.4 after the system's introduction.The results showed no significant difference in mental health of residents before and after the system was changed.
3) The results suggest that the new training system has a positive effect on residents' mental health by increasing sleep time and decreasing occupational stress; however, the new system has also decreased job satisfaction and negatively affected their mental health.
4) Job satisfaction may significantly affect the mental health of residents.

BACKGROUND: Ibaraki's Amabie-chan is a COVID-19 infection control system unique to Ibaraki prefecture, Japan. It requires residents to register each time they visit events, commercial facilities, and restaurants. The number of registrations has been limited, and its function alerting about people positive for COVID-19 infection seems not to be working. Nevertheless, registration with the system might have some impact on the user's behavior. In the current preliminary survey, the possible impact of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan on infection prevention behavior and fear of COVID-19 was investigated. METHODS: A cross-sectional, web-based, anonymous, and self-administered survey was conducted at two workplaces in Tsukuba Science City, Ibaraki, Japan. The first survey was conducted at one of the workplaces in November 2020, and the second survey, at the other workplace in February 2021. Variables of interest were sex, age group, marital status, employment status, Ibaraki's Amabie-chan use, COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application use, ten items of infection prevention behaviors, and fear of COVID-19. Hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: In both surveys, use of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan was significantly associated with COCOA use and with "physical condition management such as body temperature measurement." No association was found with other infection prevention behaviors or with fear of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS Our findings did not provide sufficient evidence for the effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan in regard to users' infection control behavior. Further detailed study is needed to investigate the effectiveness in terms of infection prevention and the cost-effectiveness of Ibaraki's Amabie-chan.
COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fear ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2

BACKGROUND: Flourishing, defined as the coexistence of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, is the most favorable end of the mental health spectrum. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the association between flourishing mental health and favorable work-related outcomes. However, epidemiology of flourishing mental health is scarce in Japan. Moreover, the relationship between flourishing mental health and occupational stress has not been elaborated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate (1) the prevalence of flourishing mental health and (2) the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress among Japanese workers. METHODS: The present survey was conducted in from February to March 2017 via an anonymous, self-administered, and web-based questionnaire among workers in Tsukuba Science City, Japan. Mental Health Continuum Short Form was used to assess flourishing mental health. We performed binomial logistic regression analyses to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of occupational stress for flourishing mental health, controlling for sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: A total of 7012 respondents (4402 men, 2610 women) were analyzed. The overall prevalence of flourishing mental health among the respondents was 12.4%. Full-time (permanent) workers were less likely to be flourishing. Reward from work (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 2.04-2.68), support from colleagues and superiors (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.44-1.94), and workload (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.05-1.36) were positively associated with flourishing mental health, whereas mental workload (AOR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.57-0.75) was inversely associated with flourishing mental health. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the present study shed light on the association between flourishing mental health and occupational stress.