Abstract

Purpose: In Japan, Hansen’s disease patients were diagnosed until 1950, and currently, they are aging and will pass in the next decade. In order to pass down history, we need a conceptualization of survivors’ experiences and nursing practices. The purpose of this study is to clarify nurses' clinical competency in caring of care for Hansen’s disease survivors in the final career stage of nursing development.
Methods:

1. Subjects: Nurses who had worked more than 20 years at Hansen’s disease sanatorium in Japan.
2. Data collection methods: Semi-structured interview.
3. Data analysis: Qualitative and inductive analysis.

Results: Clinical nursing competencies belonged to five categories:

1. Ability to reduce multiple severe sequelae that are characteristics of Hansen’s disease and deuteropathy that results.
2. Ability to see through infection and focus on what is hidden.
3. Ability to acquire survivors’ reliance through the development of skills suited to survivors’ criteria for acceptance.
4. Ability to care for survivors’ during death and dying in place of their family whom they had lost due to past compulsory isolation.
5. Ability to pass down survivors’ suffering to future generations in place of survivors.

Conclusion: The ability to prevent sequelae and resulting deuteropathy is specific to care of Hansen’s disease. In practice, nurses require knowledge of the history of the disease and to create deep relationships with survivors to compensate for past policies of isolation. Additionally care for the dying and passing down information are new responsibilities due to survivors’ aging.