Committed to Working for the Community: Experiences of a Public Health Nurse in a Remote Area During the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract

We examined the experiences of a public health nurse (PHN) in a rural area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. We used an ethnographic method to obtain in-depth information about her experiences, from which six themes were developed. The PHN risked her life to protect members of the community, but she remained anxious to see her own young children as soon as possible. Nevertheless, she was strongly committed to helping community members and continued to work for them. We suggest creating a practical system to allow PHNs to obtain information about the safety of their own families during a disaster.