Community Assessment Method for Non-local Public Health Nurses in the Remote Island of Okinawa Pref. : Making a Chronological Table of Lifestyle as a First Step for PHN Practice(Community Health Nursing Reports)

Abstract

Remote islands have original life customs, culture, dialect and thinking attitudes. It is necessary for Public Health Nurses (PHNs) to have a basic understanding of these, but it is difficult for PHNs who grew up in a different culture or another prefecture. So, using Cultural Nursing Research methods, in particular, by studying the local historical background through conversation with residents, we were able to make a Chronological Table for people in their 50's showing their changing social history and diet. From this table it is possible to understand how these changes affect their present lifestyles. Our main information, the life history of four Clerks, was gathered at the town office in the Island M of Okinawa Prefecture and investigated thoroughly. We could understand the reasons for residents' bad life style through this method. In complement to the Analysis of Health Statistics, this method made it possible to understand residents' Real Lives.