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Individual Testimonies of Nursing Care after the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki in 1945

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2013

Yuko Matsunari  and
Ruiko Nakao
Yuko Matsunari*
Affiliation:
Department of Fundamental Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
Ruiko Nakao
Affiliation:
Non-affiliated
*
Correspondence: Yuko Matsunari, RN, MHS Department of Fundamental Nursing School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Kagoshima University 8-35-1 Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan E-mail matsuy@health.nop.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
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Abstract

Purpose

To describe the situation with respect to nursing care conducted immediately before and after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945.

Methods

Nurses who were registered nursing staff in Nagasaki at the time of the bombing volunteered to participate in this research. Individual interviews were conducted to obtain information concerning the nursing activities in affected areas. The collected information was compared with official documents regarding the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and findings of current studies of disaster situation nursing.

Result

Five participants indicated that starting on the day of the bombing, nursing care activities changed from moment to moment according to the condition of radiation victims, the condition of affected areas, and the relief systems in place. Under these conditions, nurses attempted to provide nursing care to victims of the bombing through any means possible.

Conclusion

The participants in the present study communicated a single message: that nursing care must be flexible in critical situations. Triage and cooperation with other types of medical professionals were also identified as important factors in nursing care.

MatsunariY, NakaoR. Individual Testimonies of Nursing Care after the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(2):1-5.

Keywords

atomic bombNagasakinursing
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 99 - 103
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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