A text-mining analysis of nursing care for overseas visitors in Japan

Abstract Background The provision of health and nursing care for overseas visitors to Japan is becoming more important for nurses and hospitals owing to the sharp increase in visitor numbers. We investigated the attitudes and concerns of Japanese nurses when caring for overseas visitors, focusing on preparedness. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional text-mining study. The analysis was both qualitative and quantitative with a descriptive aim, including two open-ended questions to nurses. A total of 513 nurses participated, representing 350 hospitals from eight prefectures across Japan. We collected data from nurses enrolled in a first-level management course from August 2011 to February 2012. We analyzed the responses to the open-ended question with Text Mining Studio 5.1, and numeric data with JMP 11.0. Results Only 32.8% (167) of the nurses affirmed that their hospitals were prepared to care for overseas visitors. Nurses from hospitals that had prepared for overseas visitors were more concerned about culture and lifestyle differences. In contrast, nurses from hospitals that lacked appropriate preparation were strongly concerned about their foreign language skills. Among all hospitals, many nurses were most concerned about language communication, informed consent, and payment of medical expenses. Conclusion Hospitals in Japan should require that their nurses be better prepared to care for overseas visitors. We conclude that formal preparation will help nurses take into consideration various unique characteristics of overseas visitors to provide necessary healthcare. Japanese nursing professionals need greater knowledge of global health issues to understand patients from foreign countries.