title: Individual testimonies to nursing care after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present research is to clarify the nursing care conducted just before and after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five surviving nurses, who were registered nursing staff at that time in Hiroshima, offered to participate in this research. Individual interviews were conducted in order to obtain the information concerning the nursing activities in the disaster-stricken areas. The collected information was collated with the documents with regard to the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, and compared with the current studies concerning nursing in disaster.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The five nurses who participated in the study made it clear that, from the day of the bombing, nursing care activities changed moment by moment according to the condition of the radiation victims, the stricken areas and the relief systems. Under these circumstances, the nurses tried to help the victims of the bombing by devising anything useful for nursing care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The research participants left their messages, pointing out that nurses' mental attitude to those in front of them as patients is one of the most important things to keep in mind following any major disaster.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan. matunari@health.nop.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsunari
authors.forename: Matsunari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yuko
authors.forename: Sachie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nozawa
authors.forename: Nozawa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sachie
authors.forename: Kayo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakata
authors.forename: Sakata
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kayo
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: Ohara
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yoshiko
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Takahashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Keiko
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hyakuta
authors.forename: Hyakuta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yukiko
authors.forename: Mutsumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Ueda
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mutsumi
authors.forename: Ryoko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ohara
authors.forename: Ohara
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ryoko
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kobayashi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toshio
authors.forename: Noriyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Kawano
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noriyuki
authors.forename: Kazumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizumoto
authors.forename: Mizumoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazumi
mesh_terms: D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008016:Life Change Events; D009689:Nuclear Warfare; D054043:Nuclear Weapons; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*