The aim of this research is to understand the essence of the leprosy patient's life and to supply the fundamental of mediatorial nursing science for the shake of holistic nursing endeavors. This research is based on van Manen's phenomenological hermen...
The aim of this research is to understand the essence of the leprosy patient's life and to supply the fundamental of mediatorial nursing science for the shake of holistic nursing endeavors. This research is based on van Manen's phenomenological hermeneutic approach, one of the qualitative research methods, with a view to grasp the experiences of the Leprosy patients.
Six Leprosy patients in a hospital on the S Island participated in this research. The main material consists of the individual and in-depth interviews with the patients, three non-instructive and non-structural sessions from 28. June, 2003 till 5. September, 2003. This research results in the following 11 themes.
Attacking and prevailing of the evil disease by degrees.
Resentment towards the root cause of the incurable disease.
Deepening despair day by day.
Giving up aims of life.
Shunning of the neighbors and the following traumata.
Homeless wandering.
Earnest hope for healing.
Other torments - deeping heartache in the sake of separation and loneliness.
Misery and hardships due to the hunger and physical strain.
Handicapped because of the after-effect.
Spiritual comfort and reconciliation with oneself and the world.
This research shows that Leprosy is an ailment which shatters throughly the life of the patients, and that to them there remain the after-effect and mental pain even after the healing. Therefore, we need a holistic nursing system, containing the psychological, the mental and the spiritual approach, to understand and comfort Leprosy patients, helping them to live stably and harmoniously.
This implies the expectation for the nursing crew who, hopingly, are so drilled as to command the professional attitude, knowledge and technique, and at the same time to play the role of efficient counsellors, by means of deep understanding of the Leprosy patients in the task of nursing them.